The Cost of the GOP’s Medicaid Cuts: ER Bills for States and a Spiraling Oral Health Crisis

Dentist Dr. Tara Prasad thinks a lot about the logistics of homelessness — how difficult it is to brush your teeth when you don’t have a place to store a toothbrush, or how to protect a life-changing set of dentures when you’re sleeping and someone may steal your belongings. Prasad is the dental director at Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, where she often sees patients who have delayed dental care for a long time. 

Prasad and oral health providers in several states are bracing for impact as the fallout of HR1, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, descends upon state legislatures. The budget law’s cuts to Medicaid — to the tune of over $900 billion over the next 10 years — are now being passed on to state legislatures. 

“This is a movie we’ve seen before,” said Alex Sheff, senior director of policy and government relations at the advocacy group Health Care for All Massachusetts. In lean times, optional Medicaid adult dental benefits have often been the first on the budget chopping block as states search for ways to make up for shortfalls. But history has shown that these cuts are a fool’s bargain, with dire consequences for both states’ budgets and their residents’ health.