How repealing the Affordable Care Act could affect New York

Jan. 04----Health insurance could be at risk for more than 2.8 million New Yorkers, including 150,493 in Western New York, who have enrolled for coverage under President Barack Obama's health care law, many of them with ongoing medical needs.

--If Medicaid becomes a block grant program, states like New York with a large number of Medicaid patients could face huge budget problems, unless they cut costs by taking away coverage from people. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo estimates a $3.7 billion state budget impact.

--Hospitals, which have experienced job growth under the law, may face dire financial consequences as uninsured patients show up in their emergency rooms. Repeal of the law would cost Western New York hospitals tens of millions of dollars a year, rs, according to the Healthcare Association of New York State, a lobbying group.

--Uncertainty would likely arise over the impact on insurance premiums for individuals who pay directly for coverage, as well as for employer-sponsored health plans.

--Questions already have surfaced over the future of the law's significant quality and payment reforms that hospitals and doctors are incorporating into their operations, although experts say they expect these changes to stay.

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