A repeal of key provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) could lead to significant economic disruption and substantial job losses in every state, according to new research from The Commonwealth Fund and George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health. In 2019 alone, 2.6 million people could lose their jobs in health care and other sectors. Job losses could rise to nearly 3 million by 2021.
According to the Milken Institute’s Leighton Ku, lead author of the study, “Cuts in federal funding would not only harm the health care industry and its employees but could lead to serious economic distress for states, including a $1.5 trillion reduction in gross state product from 2019 to 2023.”