How HR-1, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” Could Reshape Your Benefits

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (HR-1) has passed as of July 3, 2025, bringing the most significant changes to government benefits in decades. If you receive SNAP, Medicaid, housing assistance, or other federal benefits, these changes will likely affect you starting in 2025.

Most changes make it harder to qualify for benefits and easier to lose them. The law introduces stricter work requirements, more frequent eligibility checks, and reduced funding for several programs. However, some provisions do provide additional support, particularly for families with children and student loan borrowers.

The changes will roll out over the next few years, with some taking effect immediately and others phasing in through 2030. Understanding what's coming can help you prepare and maintain your benefits during this transition.

Here's what every government benefit recipient needs to know about HR-1's impact on their assistance.

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Which benefits programs are affected?

With the soon-to-be-law provisions of HR-1, we're about to experience a pretty vast shift in the way the government gives benefits to people. To learn specifically about the impact on each program, click its name. Here's a quick and easy overview:

SNAP (Food Stamps): Work requirements expanded to ages 18-64 with fewer exemptions; benefits harder to maintain and calculate.
Medicaid: Eligibility checks every 6 months starting in 2026; stricter asset limits for long-term care.
Child Tax Credit: Temporarily increases from $2,000 to $2,500 per child through 2028.
Section 8 Housing: New voucher allocations frozen; portability between regions becomes more difficult.
Student Loans: New borrowers get only two repayment options starting in 2026; employer repayment assistance made permanent.
Unemployment Insurance: Eligibility definitions clarified, potentially narrowing who qualifies.
Medicare/Nursing Homes: New staffing requirements delayed until 2035.
Standard Tax Deduction: Temporarily increased by $1,000 for all filing statuses through 2028.

What are the biggest changes?

The most significant transformation affects SNAP benefits. Work requirements now apply to adults aged 18-64, up from 16-59, bringing thousands more people under work mandates. Exemptions that previously protected parents with children under 18, veterans, homeless individuals, and foster youth are eliminated or will sunset by 2030.

Medicaid faces equally impactful changes with eligibility reviews shifting from annual to every six months for expansion populations. This change alone could cause hundreds of thousands of people to lose coverage due to administrative errors or temporary income fluctuations.

Housing assistance sees its growth mechanism dismantled. Section 8 vouchers lose their automatic funding increases, and new allocations are frozen unless Congress specifically approves them. This effectively caps the program at current levels while demand continues to grow.

What's the good news in this bill?

The law isn't entirely restrictive. The Child Tax Credit increases to $2,500 per child (up from $2,000) for tax years 2025-2028, providing additional support for families. The standard deduction also gets a temporary $1,000 boost, reducing tax burdens for low- and middle-income households.

Seniors get significant tax relief through a new $6,000 deduction for taxpayers 65 and older, designed to reduce taxes on Social Security benefits for middle-income retirees. This deduction is on top of existing senior deductions. Seniors also benefit from maintaining their exemption from SNAP work requirements, with the age threshold remaining at 65 and over.

Student loan borrowers benefit from permanent employer repayment assistance exclusions, and Parent PLUS borrowers get new opportunities to access income-based repayment plans. Some housing protections improve, including longer eviction notice periods and extended application deadlines for public housing conversions.

Agricultural disaster assistance expands to cover more crops and longer time periods, helping farmers recover from climate-related losses.

What's the bad news in this bill?

The restrictions far outweigh the expansions. SNAP benefits will be harder to get and keep, with the Thrifty Food Plan (which guides SNAP allocations) now only updatable every five years and required to be cost-neutral. States lose flexibility in waiving work requirements and face increased administrative costs.

Medicaid becomes less stable for beneficiaries, with more frequent eligibility checks and frozen asset limits for long-term care. The delay in nursing home staffing improvements until 2035 means continued understaffing in facilities caring for vulnerable seniors.

Immigrant eligibility faces new restrictions across multiple programs, excluding some refugees and trafficking victims who previously qualified for assistance. SNAP nutrition education programs lose all funding after 2025, eliminating obesity prevention and healthy eating resources.

What should you do now that the bill has passed?

In order to protect yourself from these changes, you'll want to do the following:

Update your information immediately. Contact all benefit programs to ensure they have your current address, phone number, and email. You'll need to receive renewal notices and respond quickly to maintain benefits.
Gather your documents. Collect proof of income, work hours, household composition, and any qualifying conditions. Keep these documents easily accessible and updated regularly.
Understand new work requirements. If you're between 18-64 and receive SNAP, determine if you meet work requirements or qualify for remaining exemptions. Consider job training or employment services if needed.
Plan for more frequent renewals. If you have Medicaid, prepare for eligibility reviews every six months starting in 2026. Set reminders to complete paperwork and respond to requests promptly.
Consider timing of major changes. Marriage, divorce, moving, or job changes can affect benefits. Understand how these life events might impact your eligibility under the new rules.
Stay informed about implementation. Changes will roll out differently in each state. Contact your local benefit offices or visit official websites for state-specific information about timing and requirements.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act represents a fundamental shift in how government benefits work. While some provisions provide additional support, most changes make the safety net more restrictive and harder to navigate. Preparing now can help ensure you maintain access to the assistance you need during this transition period.