COLUMBUS – Advocates in Ohio for the federal health care law targeted by President-elect Donald Trump and congressional Republicans say repeal would jeopardize insurance coverage for as many as 1 million Ohioans by 2019 and hurt families and businesses.
Those claims came hours before the Senate approved a budget measure that is the first step toward dismantling the Affordable Care Act, referred to as “Obamacare.”
“Obamacare is increasing costs for middle-class families, with premiums up by nearly 100 percent in Ohio over the last six years while wages have been largely flat,” Republican U.S. Sen. Rob Portman said after the vote early Thursday. “Many Ohioans lost the health care plans they liked, and others found out they couldn’t keep their own doctors. The law is also hurting small businesses, which is undermining our economy and job creation.”
Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown and Republican Gov. John Kasich expressed concerns about the impacts of turning back the Affordable Care Act without a superior replacement. Kasich specifically supports the Medicaid expansion allowed under the act, while not embracing the entire law.
The advocates’ remarks accompanied release of an analysis by the liberal think tank Policy Matters Ohio that found repeal would mean $3.5 million fewer federal funds for Ohio’s budget, $535 million less to Ohioans’ household budgets and $15 billion in increased costs to hospitals for indigent care.
“Losing ACA will be painful and we must protect it. There is no plan for a replacement. It’s a dangerous situation for Ohio” said Policy Matters senior project director Wendy Patton.
The group says the percentage of Ohioans lacking health coverage dropped from 11 percent in 2013 to 6.5 percent in 2015 as almost 700,000 additional residents were covered under Medicaid expansion and another 212,000 enrolled in marketplace coverage, most with subsidies defraying the cost to the tune of $535 million.
The report says 9 percent of Franklin County residents between the ages of 16 and 64 rely on Medicaid expansion for health coverage and the shares are higher in Pickaway (11.2%) and Morrow (12.5%) counties.