The Senate approves Trump's bill that will leave 11 million Americans without health coverage.

WashingtonThe possibility that Donald Trump has in on the table his tax bill to be signed on July 4th—Independence Day—is gaining momentum. After a marathon vote in the Senate that lasted all night and into Tuesday morning, Republicans secured the minimum 50 votes to advance the text toward final approval, with Vice President J.D. Vance casting a tie-breaking vote. Now the text, which, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), will increase the public debt by $3.3 trillion and leave more than 11 million Americans without health insurance, will move to the House of Representatives for final approval.

Congressmen in the lower house initially processed a very different text, in which the public debt was $2.4 trillion, and now they will face the new figure of $3.3 trillion. Currently, the United States public debt is $29 trillion.

Precisely, they are These figures are what cause discord among Republican legislators.s. While a number of members of Congress, such as Alaska Representative Lisa Murkowski, oppose the monumental blow to social programs like Medicaid, the party's fiscal hawks would like even deeper tax cuts and a further reduction in social benefits.

The Big Beautiful Bill—its official name—plans to extend the corporate tax cuts passed in 2017; implement new requirements for accessing Medicaid and other social programs; withdraw incentives for investments that promote the fight against climate change; and allocate a larger budget for border militarization. In fact, the reduction in federal funding for social benefits will be one of the largest the country has seen since the 1990s. In total, public spending in this area is expected to be reduced by more than a trillion dollars.

All the money lost from the tax cuts will have to come from somewhere. The big fear was that Trump would cut the three main public health programs (Medicaid, Medicare, and Obamacare). Although the president has repeatedly promised not to touch Medicaid, the Senate proposal will leave 11.8 million Americans without health coverage by 2034.

Medicaid covers more than 78.5 million people, nearly 20% of the US population. Medicare, which is aimed at people 65 and older, had around 68.5 million beneficiaries at the beginning of the year, while Obamacare—officially known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA)—covers around 24 million, almost double the 12 million who enrolled in 2010. Under the Bill, public spending on Medicaid, Medicare, and Obamacare would be reduced by more than $1.1 trillion. Medicaid would suffer the biggest cuts.

Cuts and more requirements to access the benefits

Beyond public health assistance, another major victim will be the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which serves more than 40 million low-income Americans.

The bill's proposed cuts to social programs will be indirect: eligibility requirements will be increased, so that when the program comes up for renewal, many former recipients will be left out. This means that fewer users would be allocated to the programs.

In the case of Medicaid, adults without disabilities and with children over 15 would be required to work a minimum of 80 hours per month starting in December 2026. Recipients would also be required to provide additional income and residency verification.

In addition, the plan is also to reduce taxes on health care providers—which states use to fund their share of the cost of Medicaid—from 6% to 3.5% by 2031. The impact of this cut would be devastating for rural areas, as many states are in remote areas. For this reason, some Republicans from these states have asked the Senate to include a $25 billion fund for these medical centers.

Aside from the Alaska representative, senators with poor and rural populations have expressed their opposition to the magnitude of the cuts, such as Senators Susan Collins of Maine; Josh Hawley of Missouri; and Thom Tillis of North Carolina. On the other hand, Republican fiscal hawks would like to cut even more.