One health policy professor said cutting Medicaid and similar programs "will be devastating" to millions of Americans.

Of the $16.4 billion annual Medicaid costs for Louisiana, state taxpayers kick in about $3 billion, according to the Legislature. The new law would halt some of the tools Louisiana uses to pay that $3 billion, requiring the state to pour in extra money or let some people go without health insurance.

The “Big Beautiful Bill," as Trump has called it, includes a $1 trillion reduction in spending over the next decade for Medicaid, the government insurance program for low-income Americans. Trump signed the bill on July 4.