Nevada's governor, Joe Lombardo, praised the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on July 3, 2025, the day it cleared the House. The law blocks two rules meant to make it easier for low-income seniors and people with disabilities to get help with Medicare costs, a $122 billion federal cut, and by January 2027 it ends Medicare for lawfully present immigrants outside a few groups, the first time Congress has taken Medicare away from people who already had it, according to KFF.
The law also lowers income to Medicare's hospital trust fund, which the 2026 Trustees Report now projects will run short one quarter earlier, in 2033, and it adds $8.8 billion to Medicare drug spending by keeping more rare-disease drugs out of price negotiation.
Joe Lombardo's Praise for the Law That Changes Medicare
- Lombardo Praised a Law That Blocks Help for Low-Income Seniors Paying Medicare Premiums. Joe Lombardo posted on July 3, 2025: "Nevadans should be excited about the potential impacts of tax cuts, investments in small businesses and American manufacturing, and efforts to help secure our border." That statement of support covers the whole law, including its freeze until 2034 of two Biden-era rules that made it easier to enroll in the Medicare Savings Programs and Medicaid. KFF reports that blocking the two rules cuts federal Medicaid spending by $122 billion, falling mostly on older adults and people with disabilities, and that a person with $967 a month in income who loses this help pays $185 a month in Medicare premiums, about 20 percent of income.
- The Law Lombardo Praised Ends Medicare for Some Lawfully Present Immigrants by January 2027. The law Joe Lombardo praised limits Medicare to citizens, green-card holders, certain Cuban and Haitian entrants and people from the Compact nations, and ends coverage for other lawfully present enrollees, such as refugees and asylees, within 18 months of enactment. The Congressional Budget Office expects about 100,000 people to have lost Medicare by 2034, even though they and their employers still pay Medicare payroll taxes, KFF reports.
- The Law Lombardo Praised Moves Up the Date Medicare's Hospital Trust Fund Runs Short. The tax changes in the law Joe Lombardo told Nevadans to be excited about reduce the tax revenue collected on Social Security benefits, one source of Medicare Part A funding. The Medicare Trustees now project the Part A trust fund will be depleted in 2033, one quarter earlier than a year ago, mainly because that revenue came in lower after the 2025 law, KFF reports; at depletion, hospital payments would be cut 11 percent, growing to 16 percent by 2040, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget calculated.
- The Law Lombardo Praised Adds $8.8 Billion to Medicare Drug Spending. The law Joe Lombardo praised widens Medicare's orphan-drug exclusion, so more drugs that treat rare diseases are kept out of Medicare price negotiation. KFF reports the change will cost Medicare an additional $8.8 billion, by the Congressional Budget Office's revised estimate, and delays negotiation for the cancer drugs Keytruda and Opdivo; enrollees who take those drugs pay cost sharing based on the higher prices.
What the Medicare Changes Joe Lombardo Praised Mean for Older Nevadans
- About 3,900 more Nevadans will be uninsured through Medicare and other coverage in 2034. KFF's state estimates of the law's effect show about 3,900 more uninsured Nevadans in 2034 through Medicare and other coverage, on top of the much larger losses through Medicaid; for an older immigrant who loses Medicare, that means paying for doctor visits and hospital care out of pocket.
- Nevada adults ages 50 to 64 face the Medicaid work requirement in 2027. Nevadans ages 50 to 64 on the Medicaid expansion are among the roughly 280,000 people subject to the law's work requirement from January 1, 2027, and KFF found that fewer than half of adults in that age group would meet it through work or school, which puts the coverage of people nearing Medicare age at risk.
Frequently Asked Questions About Joe Lombardo on Medicare
What is Joe Lombardo's record on Medicare under Trump?
Joe Lombardo praised the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on July 3, 2025, a law that blocks rules meant to help low-income seniors get help paying Medicare premiums, ends Medicare for some lawfully present immigrants, and moves up by one quarter the projected depletion of Medicare's hospital trust fund. It also raises Medicare's drug costs by $8.8 billion by putting off negotiation for some cancer drugs.
Who loses Medicare under the law Joe Lombardo praised?
Under the law Joe Lombardo praised, many lawfully present immigrants who already had Medicare, among them refugees, people granted asylum and Temporary Protected Status holders, lose eligibility, and current enrollees in those groups lose coverage within 18 months of enactment. KFF calls it the first time Congress has removed Medicare from people who were already eligible.
Will the law Joe Lombardo praised make Medicare run out of money sooner?
The Medicare Trustees' 2026 report moved the hospital trust fund's projected depletion three months closer, into 2033, mainly because the 2025 law Joe Lombardo praised lowered the Social Security tax revenue that helps fund Medicare Part A. Hospital payments would then be cut 11 percent unless Congress acts.
Last updated: 2026-10-26