Immigrant Seniors Lose Medicare Coverage Despite Paying for It

When she transitioned to working part-time last year, Rosa María Carranza counted on getting Medicare and Social Security checks. But Carranza and an estimated 100,000 other lawfully present immigrants will soon be cut out of Medicare. The GOP’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed last July by President Donald Trump, barred certain categories of lawfully present immigrants from Medicare.

Explainer: How will the One Big Beautiful Bill Act impact healthcare access?

H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), was passed into law by Congress on July 4, 2025. This major spending act will add $3.4 trillion to the federal deficit over the next decade. OBBBA will fund tax cuts while making cuts to essential programs like Medicaid, a joint federal-state health insurance program administered by the states and relied on by millions of disabled and low-income Americans.