Health care advocates are worried that the bill Republican U.S. Senators are considering would be a disaster for New Jersey.
Ray Castro with New Jersey Policy Perspective says eliminating Medicaid expansion and health insurance subsidies would reverse progress made under the Affordable Care Act.
“The current un-insurance rate of 10 percent would increase to about 14 percent by 2020 and 15 percent by 2026. That’s a 50 percent increase. The rate would actually be higher than it was before the Affordable Care Act.”
Maura Collinsgru with New Jersey Citizen Action says proposed cuts will have dire consequences for the Garden State.
"The current attempts to cap or cut Medicaid through the ACA repeal and budget maneuvers will take much needed health care services away from people who need it most, our children, our seniors, our disabled, and low and moderate-income individuals."
Bruce Davis with the New Jersey NAACP says the GOP plan would be devastating for the working poor, primarily people of color.
"This administration is eager to see us dead in the streets without any health care safety net, and that is exactly what will happen."
Assembly Speaker Vinnie Prieto says repealing Medicaid expansion and the insurance subsidies would result in the loss of $28 billion in federal funds over ten years and damage the state’s budget and its economy.