A new study by the Commonwealth Fund and Milken Institute of Public Health at George Washington University found that repeal of the Affordable Care Act would cost Texas 174,700 jobs and 2.6 million jobs nationwide in 2019.
The report debunks the idea that the ACA has been a job killer.
“These losses would not be limited to hospitals, clinics, and patients; they would have widespread repercussions for businesses and workers as well, affecting multiple sectors of each state’s economy,” the report says.
A third of the jobs lost would be in the healthcare sector, but other losses would be in construction and real estate, retail, finance and insurance and public employment.
In addition, the number of people without health insurance would double.
“We in Congress must be mindful of not only the thousands in our districts, but the millions across the country, who are at risk of losing health coverage,” Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson said after reviewing the report. “A repeal of the healthcare law would put millions of jobs under attack. Repealing the ACA is dangerous and a threat to our community and our nation’s economic growth. After the years it took to dig this country out of recession that followed the 2008 housing collapse, why would we do something to put our citizens, our economy, and our country’s future at risk again.”
Gross State Product in Texas would also decline. Repeal of the ACA would result in the loss of $107.4 million in gross state product in Texas from 2019 to 2023 and the loss of $2.7 million in state and local taxes in Texas from 2019 to 2023.
In addition, a heavy burden would be placed on counties like Dallas that have public hospitals as the number of uninsured patients increased. Parkland Hospital’s costs not covered by insurance are paid by Dallas County residents through property taxes that must balance the Dallas County Hospital District’s budget. Although a number of patients from surrounding counties also access Parkland services, Dallas can’t recover those costs from those counties, so Dallas County residents are stuck with those expenses as well.
“I am committed and will continue to work to ensure that the ACA stays in place, despite the uproar and support Republicans have put forth to dismantle it,” Johnson said.
SOURCE: Dallas Voice
