Millions of Kids Could Lose Insurance as GOP Healthcare Cuts Start To Bite

More than 1 million children have lost insurance since President Donald Trump took office in 2025. Another million could lose it amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and new Medicaid eligibility rules. On WAMU’s Health Hub on June 3, KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner explained how fear and confusion complicate access to health coverage.

Last year’s big cuts to federal healthcare programs in the Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act created an affordability crunch for many Americans. They’ve ushered in higher health insurance premiums and confusion about who’s covered under new Medicaid rules.

Another result has been falling enrollment in Affordable Care Act plans and Medicaid. That’s leaving nearly 2 million children uninsured, according to an analysis by the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy’s Center for Children and Families. KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner appeared June 3 on WAMU’s Health Hub to explain who’s vulnerable to losing coverage and what it all could mean for the prices Americans pay for health insurance next year.