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How Trump’s megabill will impact health care 

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The massive tax cut legislation passed by the House and Senate this week will dramatically upend health care in America.

The legislation, now on its way to President Trump, was never framed as a health bill, but it will mark the biggest changes to U.S. health policy since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was passed in 2010.

The bill's provisions will impact patients, doctors, hospitals, and insurers, as Republicans partially paid for it by cutting more than $1 trillion from federal health programs.

The bulk of the cuts are coming from Medicaid. As a result, changes are coming that will affect how people qualify for and enroll in the program that covers more than 70 million low-income and disabled Americans, as well as how they can maintain coverage.

“No matter how often repeated, the magnitude of these reductions — and the number of individuals who will lose health coverage — cannot be simply dismissed as waste, fraud, and abuse,” American Hospital Association president Rick Pollack said in a statement.

“The faces of Medicaid include our children, our disabled, our seniors, our veterans, our neighbors, and friends. The real-life consequences of these reductions will negatively impact access to care for all Americans.”

Almost 12 million lower-income Americans would lose their health insurance by 2034, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), blunting the significant coverage gains made under the ACA.

The cuts were deep enough to give some Republicans in........

© The Hill