BrightFocus Statement on Senate Passage of the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act

Update: On July 4, President Trump signed into law the budget reconciliation package known as the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) Act. The legislation includes an estimated $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts.

Today, the U.S. Senate passed the One Big, Beautiful Bill (H.R.1), a sweeping legislative package that includes $930 billion in Medicaid cuts over the next decade and significant deregulation of for-profit health care. If signed into law, 11.8 million Americans would lose their health insurance by 2034, jeopardizing access to care for millions of Americans living with Alzheimer’s disease, macular degeneration, glaucoma, and other serious conditions.

“This legislation threatens the health care of some of our most vulnerable citizens—children, people with chronic diseases or disabilities, and older adults,” said Stacy Pagos Haller, President and CEO of BrightFocus Foundation. “These cuts would not only limit individual access to care but also undermine Medicaid’s vital role in expanding access to clinical trials, vision care, and long-term care for people with Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative conditions. All Americans deserve access to the medical breakthroughs that scientists have worked tirelessly to achieve.”

BrightFocus Foundation is deeply concerned about the wide-ranging impact this legislation will have on patients, caregivers, and the health care system as a whole. For example, it will:

• Dramatically reduce Medicare and Medicaid services, limiting access to essential treatments, long-term care, and support services for older adults and people with chronic conditions like Alzheimer’s and vision loss. It also makes significant changes to the health insurance marketplace that would lead to millions of people losing their coverage and becoming uninsured.
• Undermine innovation and access to care by weakeningMedicaid’s role in supporting clinical trial access, vision services, and Alzheimer’s screenings for underserved communities.
• Shift more health care costs to patients, placing additional financial strain on seniors and families managing diseases that already carry high medical and caregiving expenses.
• Reduce access to specialized care through changes in reimbursement models or eligibility criteria, making it harder for patients to see specialists in neurology, ophthalmology, or geriatrics—critical for early detection and disease management.
• Affect services that help people age in place, such as home health aides or transportation—vital lifelines for those living with Alzheimer’s or vision impairment.

Now is the time to accelerate—not reverse—progress in research, access, and care.

Source: Associated Press