Casework Notes on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act
BY SIRENA HARROP
A few weeks ago, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA, OB³?), was officially signed into law. This sweeping reconciliation bill enacts major changes, many of which may impact Congressional caseworkers’ caseloads in the months and years ahead.
In this brief guide, we’ll cover the bill’s headline provisions, as well as its anticipated impacts on key casework programs and agencies. As always, we have to caveat that politics and policy is not a science: as caseworkers know, what’s in the law itself is subject to how agencies interpret and implement it, and that’s where casework is created or prevented.
By the end of this post, we hope that you have a good snapshot on what’s changing, when the changes are coming, and how your team may need to adjust your approach and resourcing to serve constituent needs over the next few years.
Impacts on Key Casework Programs
Medicaid
What Changed?
First‑ever national work requirement: Adults 19‑64 must log 80 hours/month of work or approved activities to keep coverage.
HHS must re‑check beneficiaries’ income every 6 months (previously was yearly).
New premiums/co‑pays (up to $35 per visit) for expansion adults with incomes 100-138% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL).
Retroactive coverage shortened to 1 month; provider‑tax cap ratcheted down over time.
Possible impact on Casework
Constituents who lose Medicaid for missing work‑reporting or paperwork deadlines, including lost or mishandled paperwork, and retroactive coverage/rebilling.
Constituents related to documented exemptions (pregnancy, caregiving, medical) and file rapid appeals for coverage lost around medical procedures.
Potential unexpected co‑pays or providers refusing service if payment isn’t made up front.
Timeline
Federal guidance by Dec. 2025; States build systems in 2026.
Work rules and cost‑sharing start Dec. 2026 / early 2027; provider‑tax limits phase to 3.5% by 2031.
Medicare
What Changed?
Law blocked the planned auto‑enrollment of low‑income seniors into Medicare Savings Programs (Qualified Medicate Beneficiary, Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary), maintaining the status quo.
Impact on Casework
As enrollment remains manual, caseworkers should expect to continue to support outlier applications and enrollment issues. Caseworkers may anticipate some confusion from seniors who were expecting to no longer have to manually enroll into savings programs.
Timeline
Provision took effect immediately on enactment (July 4, 2025); no auto‑enrollments will occur unless future legislation reverses it.
SNAP
What Changed?
Work requirement age ceiling rises to 64 (was 54); now applies to many parents of kids 14+ and to former foster youth, veterans, and homeless adults who previously had exemptions.
Creates a state cost‑share: states with high error rates must pay 5-15% of benefit costs and see admin cost match fall from 50% to 25%.
Freezes future benefit growth by locking the Thrifty Food Plan to inflation only (estimated to hover around 2-3% YOY).
The previous law required a re-evaluation every 5 years, typically pushing benefit increases to over 20% surpassing inflation rates significantly.
Impact on Casework
Impact on casework will be very state-specific, and depend on the individual office’s policy on handling or referring SNAP-related cases.
In general, casework teams may expect to hear from older adults, veterans, and caregivers navigating work hour reporting, as well as issues with enrollment, processing, and documentation for hardship waivers, job training programs, and alternate food resources.
As Dave Guarino flagged in our recent SNAP webinar, it may also be helpful for casework teams to stay in close touch with their state counterparts: if those folks experience a spike in SNAP-related casework, that could cause spillover inquiries to Congressional offices.
Timeline
Work‑rule expansion and parent/foster‑youth changes begin FY 2026 (Oct 1, 2025).
Admin match drop in FY 2027; state cost‑share on benefits starts FY 2028.
Social Security Administration (Retirement and Disability)
What Changed?
Adds a temporary $6,000 “Senior Deduction” (2025‑2028) that shields Social Security income from federal tax for most seniors.
Impact on Casework
Caseworkers may get questions about “tax‑free Social Security:” clarify that monthly benefits stay the same; the change affects income‑tax filings, not benefit amounts.
Usual service‑delay issues at SSA persist; no new funding to fix backlogs.
Timeline
Deduction applies to tax years 2025-2028.
Federal Workers and OPM
What Changed?
Proposed cuts were stripped from the final bill; leaving core benefits unchanged.
Launches an OPM‑led dependent‑eligibility audit of FEHB and funds agency “efficiency plans.”
Government‑wide hiring freeze extended to Oct. 15, 2025.
Impact on Casework
Caseworkers could see some casework related to dependent FEHB benefits in cases that are identified by the OPM audit, as well as ongoing issues related to frozen job offers and hiring/relocation costs. Additionally, processing times for federal retirement and benefits may be longer due to change in number of personnel.
Timeline
Hiring freeze/agency downsizing plans run through FY 2025, with OPM audits starting later in 2025.
IRS and Tax
What Changed?
The individual tax rate cuts from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (originally set to expire in 2025) were made permanent.
There are now several new tax breaks on tip income and overtime pay.
There is a new “Senior Bonus” which offsets Social Security taxes for those 65+.
A new child-focused “Trump Account” savings account allows contributions from families, employers, nonprofits, and the government. Starting in 2026, employers can contribute up to $2,500 tax-free, and children born between Jan. 1, 2025 and Dec. 31, 2028 can receive $1,000 from the Federal government.
The child tax credit also increased from $2,000 to $2,200, and is indexed to inflation going forward.
State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction caps were raised from $10,000 to $40,000 (for those making under $500,000) for the next 5 years.
Impact on Casework
As with any tax code changes, casework teams may expect to see some casework related to questions about these changes, constituents disagreeing with assessed penalties, or delayed tax refunds due to administrative complications around new changes to the tax code.
Timeline
The majority of these changes are effective from now (2025) through to the end of 2028.
The individual tax rate cuts will not sunset as they have been made permanent.
Increases to the SALT deduction cap will sunset in 2030.
Education
What Changed?
Graduate student loans are capped ($50k/year and $200k total for professional degrees) and the income-driven repayment plans are replaced by a single “Repayment Assistance Plan” (RAP) that will require higher payments than current plans like SAVE.
Impact on Casework
Expect casework related to programmatic/administrative challenges with servicers administering repayment assistance plans, as well as outreach from constituents seeking assistance affording student loan payments.
Timeline
These changes will be effective starting July 1, 2026. Existing borrowers in SAVE, PAYE, or ICR must transition to RAP or IBR by July 1, 2028, or else default to RAP.
Other Notable Changes
Beyond the provisions that will shape day‑to‑day casework, the OBBBA also includes a slate of broader policy tweaks that could still ripple into your office. Below are a few of the most noteworthy changes to keep on your radar:
Increase in Funding for ICE: Funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will triple by 2029, rising from about $10 billion to over $100 billion, making ICE one of the best-funded law enforcement agencies. Increased ICE activity due to increased resources may also increase casework volume.
Phasing out Climate and Energy Programs: The act phases out several clean energy tax credits from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, as well as rescinding unspent climate funding from the IRA.
Thanks for sticking with us on this overview. For a 130,000+ word bill, this is as brief of a rundown as we can make it.
If you would like to dive into the bill on your own, Gabe Fleisher over at Wake Up to Politics has excellent reading guides. For another, more general overview of OBBBA, USA Facts produced their own article with detailed and helpful graphics. We also found Policy Engines’ OBBA Household Explorer to be extremely informative and illuminating on how different American families will experience life after the OBBBA. If you have any questions or if there is anything we missed, let us know and we can update this post to better support your fellow caseworkers.
