You’ve likely heard the news or talk about the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” The United States House of Representatives passed the bill last week and sent it to the Senate. Senators may change the bill as they consider and debate it. Because it hasn’t yet passed the Senate, you have a chance to influence what happens with this bill if you think there are ways it could work better for your family.
We’re parents and caregivers just like you who want to understand how changes in policies and laws could affect our children. We have reviewed the bill (which is no easy task since it’s 1116 pages long!), and we’d like to share the highlights most relevant to families below. Let us know if you see anything we missed or think we got wrong.
- Sections 10001 and 10002 (page 15) establish a method for determining food assistance eligibility and implementing work requirements for most adults who receive benefits.
- Section 44102 (page 295) repeals previous rules used to verify Medicaid enrollment information and requires states to use a federal system to verify that applicants haven’t enrolled in multiple state Medicaid systems. It also lists sources that officials can use to verify addresses.
- Section 44104 (page 303) describes how states should ensure that deceased people are not enrolled in Medicaid.
- Section 44105 (page 307) describes how states should confirm that deceased Medicaid providers and suppliers aren’t on vendor lists.
- Section 44108 (page 309) increases the frequency of eligibility redeterminations for some individuals in Medicaid expansion states to every six months. (Mississippi did not expand Medicaid and does eligibility redeterminations every twelve months. This bill, if passed, does not appear to change that.)
- Section 44110 (page 313) requires that Medicaid recipients have verified citizenship, US nationality or satisfactory immigration status. (This appears to be consistent with Mississippi’s current requirements.)
- Section 44125 (page 346) prohibits Medicaid funding for gender transition procedures, including hormone therapy, for minors. (This is consistent with Mississippi House Bill 1125, passed in the 2023 legislative session.)
- Section 44141 (page 362) mandates community engagement (work, work-training program or education program) for some adults on Medicaid. This requirement appears to focus primarily on groups of adults covered by Medicaid expansion.
- Section 110110 (page 798) allows taxpayers to use 529 accounts for certain homeschooling expenses, including educational therapies for students with disabilities.
If you have feedback about any parts of this bill, you can contact your United States senators by calling, emailing, or going by one of their offices in Mississippi. Everyone in Mississippi has the same two United States senators:
- Senator Roger Wicker, office locations and phone numbers – email
- Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, office locations and phone numbers – email
