Digging deeper into the 2025 budget bill reveals that Medicaid is not the only insurance that will be in jeopardy. Premiums for people insured under the Affordable Care Act, (ACA or Obamacare) will see steep rises in insurance premiums and the Medicare program will see cuts that will indirectly harm the senior population.

According to a recent article in “The American Prospect”, “The combination of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s (OBBBA) cuts to Medicaid (and, unless Congress does something about it, to Medicare) and the failure to extend enhanced ACA tax credits for exchange participants will cause roughly 15 million Americans to lose their health insurance, according to the latest estimates. Those who hang on to pay the higher rates are disproportionately likely to really need insurance due to medical conditions. This will tend to create sicker insurance pools, meaning more claims payouts by insurers.”

There has been a movement in the psychiatric world to recognize a new medical specialty. The name has evolved from psychoneuroimmunology to immunopsychiatry. What it boils down to is recognizing a link between immune system dysfunction and psychiatric conditions.

This is not a revelation but more of a renewed recognition that there may be strong links between some autoimmune diseases, immune system dysfunction and mental health diseases. In particular, researchers have found links between psychotic disorders and autoimmune diseases. Links have been established between celiac disease, multiple sclerosis, lupus and the development of schizophrenia.