One Big Beautiful Bill Act puts 80,000 Minnesota Health Center patients at risk of losing health care

The “One Big Beautiful Bill” puts 1.4 million Minnesotans and 80,000 Medicaid patients of MN Health Centers at risk of losing their health coverage.

SAINT PAUL, MN, UNITED STATES, July 3, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The “One Big Beautiful Bill” passed by Congress today puts millions of Americans—and an estimated 1.4 million Minnesotans—at risk of losing their health coverage. This includes 80,000 Medicaid patients who rely on Minnesota’s 17 Community Health Centers for care, nearly half of the 160,000 Minnesotans who receive high-quality, affordable primary and preventive care at a Minnesota Health Center each year.

Medicaid is essential to the health and financial stability of Health Center patients and their families. The sweeping changes passed by Congress will have devastating, immediate impacts by disrupting care for patients. This includes routine health screenings for children and adults, preventive dental visits, and behavioral health services. A vast majority of these patients will lose their insurance and forgo these cost-effective, upstream health care services.

According to national estimates, Health Centers will incur an additional $7 billion in uncompensated care annually. Health Centers operate on tight budgets, and in Minnesota, many are being forced to consider service cuts, staff reductions, and even site closures. These challenges are amplified by the looming expiration of Health Center federal funding at the end of September.

Cuts to Medicaid eligibility and benefits will translate to 20,000-40,000 Minnesota health center patients (12% to 24% of total patients served) losing their Medicaid coverage. The vast majority of these would become uninsured. This will significantly impact Minnesota Health Centers, with revenue reductions of up to 22% that could force Minnesota Health Centers to reduce services to all patients, including Medicare enrollees in rural areas.

Rather than slashing coverage and access for patients on Medicaid, Congress should be focused on strengthening primary care — not weakening it. We urge lawmakers to invest in expanding access for the 100 million Americans who already struggle to find affordable, life-saving primary care.

We are grateful for the bipartisan work at the state and national levels to improve harmful provisions, and we thank the thousands of Minnesota advocates who stood up to protect Medicaid and support Health Centers. Minnesota’s Health Centers look forward to working with our state officials to develop solutions that protect healthcare access and ensure a stronger, healthier Minnesota.

The Minnesota Association of Community Health Centers (MNACHC) is a nonprofit membership organization serving Minnesota’s Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), also known as Community Health Centers (CHCs). MNACHC works on behalf of its members and their patients to promote the delivery of affordable, quality, primary health care services, with a special emphasis on meeting the needs of low-income and medically underserved populations.

Jonathan Watson
Minnesota Association of Community Health Centers
+1 612-859-3285
email us here