Report 800,000 New Jerseyans could lose coverage if ACA repealed

A report released Tuesday by the New Jersey Policy Perspective, a public policy think tank, reveals that midterm election results could have a significant impact on key health policies, including the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid and Medicare programs.A report released Tuesday by the New Jersey Policy Perspective, a public policy think tank, reveals that midterm election results could have a significant impact on key health policies, including the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid and Medicare programs.

The report, authored by Raymond Castro, director of public policy at NJPP, states that because New Jersey expanded Medicaid under the ACA, repeal of that provision would result in the loss of health coverage for 800,000 New Jerseyans.

In addition, the report says that there are threats to residents who have pre-existing conditions or are uninsured.

“It's important for New Jerseyans to know that proposals in Congress could have a devastating effect on their health care coverage. The stakes have never been higher because the federal government sets many of the rules for all health plans, including those offered by employers” Castro told NJBIZ.

“The primary threat is to the Affordable Care Act, but other programs like Medicare and Medicaid are on the chopping block as well. It’s no exaggeration to say that the future of health care hinges on the midterm elections,” he added.

The report is designed to provide information that reveals how many residents participate in programs that could potentially be affected by proposed changes statewide and congressional districts using the most recent U.S. census data released last month.

According to the 2017 American Community Survey, 17 percent of New Jersey residents are on Medicare; 17 percent on Medicaid; 4 percent are enrolled in an individual market health plan; 8 percent are uninsured and 43 percent have pre-existing conditions.

Many New Jerseyans in all congressional districts could be affected by all the proposed changes, but the numbers vary based on the program and congressional district, the report asserts.

Among other highlights of the report: Up to 1.7 million New Jerseyans on Medicaid could lose part or all of their coverage; health coverage is threatened for up to 330,000 New Jerseyans who purchased their insurance directly; up to 3.8 million New Jerseyans are threatened by proposals to effectively eliminate current protections for pre-existing conditions; proposed federal cutbacks in Medicare threaten health coverage for up to 1.5 million New Jerseyans; and many of the 688,000 New Jerseyans who are uninsured could lose any opportunity to obtain health coverage. Copyright 2018 BridgeTower Media. All Rights Reserved.

CREDIT: Anthony Vecchione