Hundreds of thousands of immigrants with legal status could lose government health coverage starting Oct. 1, state data shows. A federal law ends Medicaid eligibility for refugees, asylees, trafficking victims and others.
Who Loses Coverage
President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill on July 4, 2025. The law ends eligibility for the named groups and others, but the coverage loss remains a risk, not a completed removal from Medicaid. State data indicates that hundreds of thousands of immigrants with legal status could be affected.
The change applies to people with legal status. Refugees, asylees and trafficking victims are among the groups identified in the law’s eligibility change. The account also refers to “others,” but doesn't list any more groups.
The change is set to start Oct. 1. The source doesn't specify a year for that date. It also doesn't identify which states supplied the data or provide a state-by-state count of people at risk.
Federal Spending Cuts
The law cuts more than $900 billion in Medicaid spending through 2034. Its eligibility provisions and spending reductions are part of the same legislation. According to the account, the potential coverage losses among immigrants with legal status are greater than expected.
The $900 billion figure covers Medicaid spending through 2034. The article doesn't break that total into particular programs, states or groups of recipients. It also doesn't say how much of the reduction comes specifically from ending eligibility for refugees, asylees, trafficking victims and others.
President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill on July 4, 2025. The law sets the eligibility change described in the report. State data puts the number of immigrants with legal status at risk of losing government health coverage in the hundreds of thousands.
What the Report Details
The report doesn't name the states whose data underlies the estimate. It gives no individual count for refugees, asylees, trafficking victims or other immigrants affected. Nor does it say how many people have already lost coverage; it reports that hundreds of thousands are at risk starting Oct. 1.
The account includes no statements from people facing the eligibility change, health workers, unions or advocacy organizations. It reports no organized response, strike or protest. It also gives no details about private insurers, contractors or other businesses receiving money through Medicaid.
The figures it provides are an estimate of hundreds of thousands at risk and a Medicaid spending cut of more than $900 billion through 2034. The law names groups whose eligibility ends, while state data points to a wider-than-expected effect among immigrants with legal status. Phil Galewitz, Andrew Jones and Claudia Boyd-Barrett of KFF Health News wrote the report.