Thu, Jul 10, 2025, 4:00 AM 5 min read
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Healthcare expert Jae Oh is cautioning others about sweeping disruptions to health coverage now that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act has become law.
Oh, an education fellow at the Alliance for Lifetime Income and author of "Maximize Your Medicare," outlined how the legislation could reshape access to Medicaid, Affordable Care Act (ACA) coverage, and Medicare Advantage plans — potentially creating new financial burdens for millions of Americans, especially retirees and those without employer-based insurance.
"I do not lose sleep over changes, for example, to the [Medicare] eligibility rules," Oh said on a recent episode of the Decoding Retirement podcast recorded before President Trump signed the bill into law. "That said, I would say that enrolling correctly, in a timely fashion, not overpaying, not underpaying, not having lapses in coverage, that entire process has become more complicated through time."
The most immediate concern centers on Medicaid work requirements, which now require recipients to prove they've worked at least 80 hours per month to maintain eligibility.
According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and KFF, an estimated 17 million Americans could go without health insurance due to Medicaid cuts and changes to the Affordable Care Act.
This change follows the unwinding of pandemic-era Medicaid, which has already led to widespread disenrollment — sometimes without recipients knowing.
"What was already complicated looks to become even more so," Oh warned. "People are being ejected today and aren't necessarily aware."
His advice? Check your status monthly. Oh recommended that current Medicaid enrollees contact their state's Department of Health and Human Services regularly to verify eligibility, as the verification process has become increasingly burdensome.
For those who buy health insurance through the ACA marketplace, the looming expiration of enhanced Advanced Premium Tax Credits (APTC) at the end of 2025 presents a serious financial threat.
"Without [the credits], this is, in effect, inflationary," Oh said.
Thanks to these subsidies, the average ACA marketplace enrollee paid just $113 per month in 2025, according to KFF data.
But without them? "If you thought that the average adult health insurance premium would be $500 a month higher, that's now $6,000 [per year]," Oh explained. "And a married couple — that's $12,000 a year as far as the cost of living. Well, that by definition is inflation."
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