Kansas could lose more than $150 million under Trump’s One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act, a shift that may significantly impact access to health care across the state.
The legislation includes significant reductions to Medicaid and Affordable Care Act funding, which experts say could leave tens of thousands of Kansans without health insurance. As a result, rising out-of-pocket costs are a concern for many, including LHS Young Democrats club sponsor Jonathan Harrison.
“I can’t imagine the fear that must go through people when they find that they’re gonna be out of pocket $10,000 by the end of the year for insurance,” Harrison said.
State leaders like Governor Laura Kelly have also raised concerns about the financial strain the cuts place on Kansas specifically.
“No state has the money to backfill these programs that were designed to be federally supported,” Kelly said in an interview with the Lawrence Kansas Times.
Harrison said the cuts prioritize the financial interests of a very small group over services many people rely on regularly.
“Real people are having services cut that they really need, for the benefit of not even the 1%, it’s probably much less than that,” Harrison said.
Despite these challenges, members of the USD497 community say local action can make a difference, including Young Democrats president and senior Eli Cokelet.
“We can help people immediately in our community,” Cokelet said. “When SNAP benefits got cut, a lot of people from LHS and Free State came together to donate food to people in need.”
Harrison also pointed to public demonstrations as an important way to connect and draw attention to how these decisions affect everyday lives.
“I think [protests] are a show of community,” Harrison said. “It allows people in like circumstances to meet with each other and maybe talk about the very real ways in which their lives are being affected.”
Cokelet emphasized the importance of staying informed on social and political news, noting that while their effects may not always be immediate, but will always hold impact.
“Even if you’re not immediately impacted by the Big Beautiful Bill, there might be future actions that this administration takes that actually impact you,” Cokelet said. “So you need to stay knowledgeable and make sure you know what’s going on.”
As the bill’s provisions begin to take effect within the next few months, Kansas residents and local organizations are preparing for changes that could reshape access to health care across the state.
