MD agencies meet to brainstorm protections against Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’

The Maryland Department of Health held a second inter-agency roundtable last week to generate ideas to help residents maintain access to health care and social safety net programming in the face of cuts made under President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill.

“Working together with our state and community partners, we will protect access to quality health care and services for all Marylanders,” Dr. Meena Seshamani, the secretary of the Maryland Department of Health, said in a statement Thursday. “We are putting the health and well-being of our residents front and center, taking a strategic, intentional approach to mitigating burdensome changes as a result of recent federal policies.”

Trump signed H.R. 1, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, on July 4. The legislation makes major cuts to social safety net programming like SNAP and Medicaid, though many of those measures, including a new Medicaid work requirement, aren’t due to phase in until late 2026.

Representatives of the Maryland Department of Health, Department of Human Services, the state Health Benefit Exchange, the Maryland Insurance Administration, insurance and health care providers, industry organizations and advocacy groups met to discuss the scope and impact that the bill’s more than $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid, health care marketplace subsidies and SNAP will have on Marylanders as the bill fully rolls out.

Those who participated shared ideas on how to reach and engage Maryland communities that may be potentially impacted with accurate and timely information, ways to strengthen community partnerships and accurately share data, minimize disruptions to SNAP, increase flexibility in marketplace benefits and solicit feedback from impacted Marylanders regarding additional support they may need.

“H.R. 1 imposes unprecedented obstacles to life-saving benefits for Marylanders who simply want to put food on their tables to feed their families,” said Rafael López, the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. “Together with our partners and communities across the state, we are meeting the moment by working together in new ways. We are determined to make it as easy as possible for Marylanders to access the benefits they deserve.”

Marylanders who may be impacted can go to marylandbenefits.org to apply for benefits and check their eligibility.

“Our agencies are united in their mission to protect Marylanders, and to keep people covered, no matter what changes come our way, “ Seshamani said.