ACA repeal poses costly risks for New Jersey, activists warn

Those in New Jersey striving to preserve the Affordable Care Act have called it the political fight of a generation.

Repealing Obamacare without an adequate replacement would threaten every community, said Maura Collinsgru, who leads the New Jersey for Health Care coalition.

“The loss of federal funds, jobs, and coverage losses will harm not only already struggling families,” she said Tuesday. “It will strain the resources of state, county and local governments.”

Ray Castro with New Jersey Policy Perspective said scrapping the Affordable Care Act without a replacement would cause the state to lose $4 billion in federal funds annually and lead to significant job losses.

“The localities would have to cope with decreased revenues because of the loss of thousands of health and other jobs,” he said. “The demand for county services would escalate to respond to the increase in problems like mental illness, substance abuse, homelessness, and even contagious diseases that could result from ACA repeal.”

More than 200,000 elderly residents could lose the “doughnut hole” assistance in Medicare drug coverage, Castro said, requiring them to pay about $1,200 more each year, forcing them to choose between paying for medicine or rent.

Congressional Republicans are trying to reach agreement on some replacement for Obamacare, but health care advocates are concerned because there’s no consensus yet on a new plan.