American Health Care Act Could Lead to Loss of Nearly a Million U.S. Jobs
<p>If it becomes law, the American Health Care Act (AHCA), as passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, could cause an estimated 924,000 jobs to disappear by 2026 and trigger economic losses in nearly every state, according to a new Commonwealth Fund study conducted by researchers at George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health.</p><p>In evaluating the current Republican bill’s impact on states’ economies, the researchers estimate that gross state products—an economic measure akin to gross domestic product—could fall by $93 billion by 2026, and state business output could fall by $148 billion. States that expanded their Medicaid coverage are likely to experience the most severe losses.</p>
<p>“The AHCA would initially cause a brief spurt of economic growth from tax cuts, which primarily help those with high incomes,” says lead author Leighton Ku, Ph.D., director of the Center for Health Policy Research at the Milken Institute School of Public Health. “However, cuts in funding for Medicaid and health subsidies then begin to deepen, triggering sharp job losses and broad disruption of state economies in the following years.”</p>