How will the ‘big, beautiful bill’ impact Georgia?

Below is a breakdown of the “big, beautiful bill” — also known as a reconciliation bill — and how its provisions could play out in Georgia.

Medicaid and health care

About 310,000 Georgians are expected to lose health insurance under the legislation.

The Senate expanded the House’s cuts to Medicaid enrollment, cutting Medicaid spending by $1 trillion over 10 years. That’s the largest spending cut in the legislation.

Georgia’s portion of that cut will likely result in the state losing about $10 billion, according to the health research organization KFF.

A major cut to Georgia Medicaid funding could come from decreasing the amount of extra money facilities like hospitals and nursing homes can draw down from special funding pools.

Headlines across the country about the bill have focused on Medicaid losses through work requirements for most adult recipients. But Georgia already has work requirements.

Instead, Medicaid enrollment in Georgia will be decreased mostly as a result of the bill increasing red tape for those people and others on Medicaid. KFF estimated 56,000 Georgians would lose Medicaid in the House version of bill, and it is likely to be similar with the final version.

Some of those cut from the program are DACA recipients — also known as immigrant “Dreamers” — who up to now have been eligible.

Georgia’s biggest health insurance coverage loss would come not through Medicaid but through changes to the Affordable Care Act exchange, also known here as Georgia Access. About 1.5 million Georgians are currently insured through Georgia Access. By increasing the red tape for those people, the bill is expected to result in about 250,000 Georgians losing coverage, according to KFF.

Extra pandemic-era ACA “enhanced” subsidies are set to expire at the end of this year. Congress so far is allowing them to expire. As a result, the number of Georgians losing ACA coverage is expected to increase to 690,000, according to KFF.

Food stamps and agriculture

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP or food stamps, helps low-income families pay for groceries. During the 2024 fiscal year, approximately 13% of Georgia’s population received SNAP benefits.

SNAP is currently funded by the federal government, but the reconciliation bill requires states with a payment error rate above 6% to fund part of SNAP. Georgia has a very high payment error rate of 15.65%.

Georgia may be eligible for a temporary delay of cost-sharing. The bill was amended in the Senate to delay cost sharing for states with high payment error rates.

The reconciliation bill requires more food assistance recipients to work, which could cause some individuals to lose eligibility. Fewer people getting aid would mean a cost savings. But the decrease in food stamp aid could have a trickle-down effect on the financial bottom line for retailers that accept food stamps.

Farm provisions in the bill modifying the Federal Crop Insurance Program are expected to boost Georgia’s agriculture industry.

Clean energy

The Senate included provisions giving companies slightly more time, roughly a year, to take advantage of green energy tax credits passed during the Biden administration.

This more gradual phaseout of these incentives angered House conservatives who pushed hard in their version of the bill to end the programs quickly and prevent companies from starting projects that could be eligible for federal dollars. But House leadership and pressure from the White House was enough to get the bill over the finish line.

As a result, the 82,000 Georgians who have jobs working in the clean tech industry could see slightly less risk now that the Senate version has become law.

Taxes

The House and Senate had different approaches to extending the tax cuts passed during Trump’s first term and implementing new ones he championed ahead of his second.

The tax cuts in the Senate version increase the deficit more, a total increase of $3.4 trillion. That’s $10,000 per capita.

The bills also had slightly different formulas for boosting the standard deduction, and the House bill extended business tax cuts for four years while the Senate bill will make them permanent.

The final version of the bill give taxpayers over age 65 an extra $6,000 above their standard deduction. This is to address the president’s efforts to end taxation on Social Security benefits.

It also includes language preventing taxation on tipped wages and overtime. But it caps the amount that can be deducted and limits the benefit further for those making more than $150,000 a year.

The bill also has a $200 per year increase in the child tax credit.

Border security and national defense

There was little difference between the House and Senate versions of the bill when it came to boosting money for immigration enforcement and for the Armed Forces. The House agreed to the Senate version which allocates slightly more money toward national defense, helping to increase in the overall price of the package.

World Cup and Olympics

The bill includes $1.6 billion for local and state preparation for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2028 Olympics.

The Olympic Games will be held in Los Angeles. The World Cup includes sites across Canada, Mexico and the United States, including Atlanta.