{"id":79186,"date":"2025-07-08T12:12:20","date_gmt":"2025-07-08T16:12:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/?p=79186"},"modified":"2025-07-08T14:26:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-08T18:26:09","slug":"trumps-big-beautiful-bill-will-cause-big-health-woes-women-are-here-to-help","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/trumps-big-beautiful-bill-will-cause-big-health-woes-women-are-here-to-help\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s \u2018Big Beautiful Bill\u2019 Will Cause Big Health Woes. Women Are Here to Help"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Cuts to Medicaid, Planned Parenthood and more – courtesy of Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” – will harm everyone, women in particular. (Credit: Abe McNatt, Flickr<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Last week, President Donald Trump<\/a>\u2019s \u201cbig, beautiful bill\u201d became the law of the land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The White House calls the new law<\/a>, signed by Trump last Friday following narrow House and Senate wins, a delivery on a \u201ccommonsense agenda\u201d that offers, among other things, \u201cthe largest middle-class tax cut in history, permanent border security, massive military funding and restoring fiscal sanity.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A roughly-1,000-page monster, his signature piece of legislation is actually, in many ways, a realization of Project 2025<\/a> \u2013 the suite of policy proposals written by conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation that Trump tried to distance himself from during the run-up to Election Day 2024. Chief among the overlaps: The targeting of Medicaid and Medicare, as well as food-assistance programs, and further restrictions on abortion and reproductive care<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

American billionaires, meanwhile, will enjoy tax cuts in the trillions<\/a>; U.S. defense forces will receive a whopping $157 billion<\/a> boost; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will get a hefty $45 billion<\/a> infusion, giving it a bigger budget<\/a> than most other nation\u2019s whole miliarities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of these shifts won\u2019t take effect immediately<\/a>. In fact, some won\u2019t take full effect until as late as 2034 \u2013 which means the negative impacts won\u2019t be felt, in large part, until after the 2026 midterm elections. But they will be implemented eventually. And when they are, America\u2019s women will be hit the hardest. (As if medical care were so great<\/a> for us to begin with.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thankfully, America\u2019s women have also been hard at work addressing the pain points that will be worsened, the needs that will be deepened, and the harms that will be suffered in the days and years ahead by this bill\u2019s passage. Below, we briefly break down the biggest health-related parts of the new law, and the ways in which women will be disproportionately impacted \u2013 while offering just a few of the many existing examples of women-run programs fighting the ever-rising tide of inequity.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Related<\/h4>\n <\/div>\n \n
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\n \n \"U.S.\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n
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\n \n U.S. Education Is Under Attack, a New Battle in a Long War. But Women Are Resisting\n <\/a>\n <\/h3>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n

1. Medicaid Cuts <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The government-backed health-insurance program for low-income families and disabled individuals \u2013 the majority of recipients being women<\/a> \u2013 will lose about $1 trillion<\/a> in federal funding over the next 10 years. Experts say that at least 10 million people<\/a> will lose coverage as a result in that time frame, with yet more to be hurt in the state-level budgeting fallouts to follow. Women in rural and remote regions of the U.S., already suffering<\/a> from a lack of proper healthcare access, are expected to be affected<\/a> the most \u2013 along with their children.
A Woman Who\u2019s Helping:<\/em><\/strong> This especially strained portion of the U.S. has been a focal group for the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, which has begun training<\/a> its students to work specifically in rural regions. \u201cWe\u2019re developing a workforce that\u2019s going to be out there, providing the support that Black women and birthing people need,\u201d said Natalie Hernandez-Green, executive director of the Morehouse School of Medicine Center for Maternal Health Equity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Medicare Cuts<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

About 55%<\/a> of those on Medicare  \u2013 the federal health-insurance program for Americans ages 65 and older \u2013 are women. This bill will bring about half a trillion dollars<\/a> in cuts to the program, starting next October (before the impacts can be felt, and Republicans\u2019 re-election campaigns can be impacted, of course). Experts say around 17 million people will lose coverage as a result. But much like their younger, low-income cohorts, older American women are also already grappling with generally substandard care<\/a> \u2013 a problem these cuts will only exacerbate. 
A Woman Who\u2019s Helping:<\/em><\/strong> Offerings such as The Pause Life<\/a>, a site launched by menopause influencer Dr. Mary Claire Haver, are helping older women find both the information and medical resources they need to age healthily. \u201cForty percent of [women] are in menopause in this country right now \u2026 and we\u2019re getting just maybe 5% of the education and research dollars,\u201d she told The Story Exchange of the already-significant issue.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Related<\/h4>\n <\/div>\n \n
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\n \n \"Cancer\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n
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\n \n New Study Finds Link Between Global Warming and Rising Cancer Rates Among Women\n <\/a>\n <\/h3>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n

3. SNAP Cuts<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program helps some 42 million<\/a> Americans with affording groceries and household necessities \u2013 the majority of them, too, are women<\/a>. Trump\u2019s new law will decrease funding for it by around $186 billion, which will cause several million people to lose access to SNAP, experts say. It will also impose increased work requirements upon recipients, which is likely to kick another 2 million people off of the program. Plus, women comprise the majority<\/a> of household shoppers (78%), which means this will come with a mental toll, as well as a physical and logistical one.
A Woman Who\u2019s Helping:<\/em><\/strong> In Mississippi, a guaranteed-income program called The Magnolia Mother\u2019s Trust<\/a> is helping Black moms in charge of caring for their families by giving $1,000 per month \u2013 no strings attached \u2013 to 100 recipients selected by lottery, for one year. It\u2019s a bid to ease the \u201ccomplications in their lives that could be solved with more cash on hand,\u201d including grocery needs, Dr. Aisha Nyandoro, who spearheads the program, said to The Story Exchange.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Defunding Planned Parenthood<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Our majority-conservative Supreme Court already delivered the biggest blow to reproductive freedom in 2022, when Roe v. Wade was overturned<\/a>. But the Big Beautiful Bill delivers another significant hit, by further defunding<\/a> Planned Parenthood through its aforementioned Medicaid cuts \u2013 an organization where about one out of every five<\/a> women has received care. In addition to further hurting women\u2019s access to reproductive and prenatal care, access to resources like STI testing<\/a> \u2013 which women take part in more frequently than men \u2013 will also be affected.
A Woman Who\u2019s Helping:<\/em><\/strong> Women have long been on the front lines of the fights for reproductive justice and fellow women\u2019s bodily autonomy, even if it\u2019s been a dangerous battle. Julie Burkhart<\/a>, who runs Wyoming\u2019s one and only full-service abortion clinic, has weathered legal battles, verbal harassment, death threats \u2013 and even arson. She says it\u2019s all worth it. \u201cIf we can walk through [fear and danger], even though it\u2019s so frightening and scary and paralyzing, it\u2019s okay on the other side,\u201d Burkhart pointed out to The Story Exchange.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Related<\/h4>\n <\/div>\n \n
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\n \n \"Rage\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n
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\n \n What 2 Women Learned Breaking Stuff in a Rage Room, As a New Conflict Begins\n <\/a>\n <\/h3>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The passage of Trump\u2019s prized legislation heralds a host of healthcare issues for all \u2013 especially women. Yet for every problem, there are women-run solutions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":79195,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"autoblue_enabled":true,"autoblue_custom_message":"Cuts to Medicaid, Planned Parenthood and more - courtesy of Trump's \"Big Beautiful Bill,\" will harm everyone - but women in particular.","autoblue_shares":[{"did":"did:plc:l2n6ydtigm3gtra4vb4rfl7f","date":"2025-07-08T16:12:33+00:00","uri":"at:\/\/did:plc:l2n6ydtigm3gtra4vb4rfl7f\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3lthox725ko2z","response":"{\"uri\":\"at:\/\/did:plc:l2n6ydtigm3gtra4vb4rfl7f\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3lthox725ko2z\",\"cid\":\"bafyreift5wjkek4nss5ozectmqctdos5kkokdzyurp43tunacioiaemrci\",\"commit\":{\"cid\":\"bafyreihokewhwwhshzdy2h4rubgqodp723llh3ouinngxqkwxja6c5asjm\",\"rev\":\"3lthox72hd62z\"},\"validationStatus\":\"valid\"}"}],"autoblue_post_url":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[187],"tags":[21405,20906,19714],"class_list":["post-79186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","tag-healthcare-policy","tag-social-equity","tag-womens-rights"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTrump\u2019s Big Beautiful Bill to Cause Health Woes. 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