By Jack O’Toole, Statehouse bureau | Hundreds of thousands of immigrants legally residing in the United States began losing their health care coverage Thursday as another round of Medicaid cuts enacted in last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) took effect.
Though specific estimates are unavailable for South Carolina, a recent analysis by KFF Health News found that about 29,000 residents will lose coverage in neighboring North Carolina, along with another 177,000 in Florida.
Affected groups include war refugees, victims of sex trafficking and interpreters who put their lives at risk helping U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Green card holders remain eligible under the law.
More than 100,000 South Carolinians have lost Medicaid and Affordable Care Act coverage due to OBBBA cuts since President Donald Trump signed the law in July 2025, according to the advocacy group Protect Our Care.
Altogether, the bill is expected to cut about $1 trillion in federal health care spending by 2035.
And the impacts of those cuts will eventually touch every South Carolinian, according to the Appleseed Legal Justice Center’s Sue Berkowitz, as rural hospitals close and the remaining providers shift costs to privately insured patients.
“You just can’t cut a trillion dollars over 10 years without affecting everybody,” Berkowitz told the City Paper.
In other recent news
2026: Andrews outspending, outraising Graham in S.C. U.S. Senate race. Democratic nominee Annie Andrews is outspending sitting Republican U.S. Sen. Darline Graham in the race for the U.S. Senate. Polls across South Carolina show them nearly tied at a time the GOP is weak. But to many, Andrews is still the underdog.
- New poll gives Graham a 1-point lead on Andrews
- Johnson details priorities in bid for S.C. governor
- National Democrats keep coming to S.C. to stump for midterm candidates
- Today is the last day to register in person to vote for S.C.’s Nov. 3 election
STATEHOUSE: Democratic lawmakers call for special session to address affordability. Democrats in the state Senate said they are calling to take up practical measures to ease household costs and strengthen economic security for South Carolinians.
S.C. Arts Commission refuses grant funding for 2 LGBTQ+ organizations. The governing board of the South Carolina Arts Commission denied grants to a pair of LGBTQ+ arts groups in the Upstate without giving a reason.
USC, Westinghouse sign agreement for nuclear workforce training center. The University of South Carolina inked a deal with Westinghouse related to the school’s plans for a nuclear workforce training center within its engineering school. However, it does not commit Westinghouse to any investment in the training center.
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