Top Pennsylvania officials on Monday said they were bracing for “disastrous” consequences if Medicaid expansion under Obamacare is repealed — including the loss of health insurance for more than 670,000 Pennsylvanians, many of them from poor and rural areas.
Another 400,000 residents who signed up for coverage through the Affordable Care Act's insurance exchange will also be left in the lurch, they said.
“There would be no way for the state to continue to provide health care for those folks,” said Ted Dallas, secretary of the state Department of Human Services, speaking shortly before a Capitol rally to keep Obamacare intact. “Repeal without replacement would have potentially devastating impacts across the state.”
The state’s two top financial officers echoed that sentiment Monday, saying a repeal would also lead to the loss of thousands of jobs and contribute to the state’s already-gaping budget deficit, one projected to grow to $1.7 billion this summer without steps to address it.
The warnings from the administration of Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf came as President Donald Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress prepared to begin acting on one of his signature pledges — to repeal or replace Obamacare.
A study by the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, a Harrisburg-based, liberal-leaning think tank, concluded that more than 137,000 Pennsylvania workers in health care, construction and other areas would lose their jobs.
The report also found that the state’s deficit could grow by another $1.4 billion, in part because the state would once again have to pick up the tab for several health care programs that the ACA now pays for.
“There will be irreparable harm if Medicaid expansion is rolled back — and it will fall disproportionately on our lowest income residents,” Treasurer Joe Torsella said at a joint press conference Monday with Auditor General Eugene DePasquale.
Mr. DePasquale stressed that Medicaid expansion has helped 63,000 residents get drug treatment — a critical tool in fighting what Mr. Wolf has called an “epidemic” of opioid addiction and overdoses.
“We obviously know these are divisive times,” Mr. DePasquale said, noting that governors, regardless of political party, are urging that a replacement plan at least be put into place before a repeal. “The impact of this, if not done right, will last for decades.”
Angela Couloumbis: acouloumbis@phillynews; Twitter @AngelasInk
First Published: January 24, 2017, 2:13 a.m.
Updated: January 25, 2017, 4:25 a.m.
