What happens in N.J. if Trump kills Medicaid expansion?

If President-elect Donald Trump and the Republican Congress carry out their promise to repeal the Affordable Care Act, the loss of federal Medicaid funding could mean a loss of health coverage for more than 500,000 New Jersey residents.

The consequences for those individuals — as well as for hospitals and the state’s economy — would be devastating, a report by a progressive Trenton think tank warned Monday.

More than twice as many state residents gained coverage through Governor Christie’s decision to expand Medicaid’s eligibility guidelines as did through healthcare.gov, the federal marketplace that provides subsidies to purchase insurance. Both are parts of the Affordable Care Act, but the marketplace got most of the attention, because of rising premiums and a drop in the number of insurers offering coverage. Medicaid, on the other hand, has appeared to work as intended. Many new Medicaid beneficiaries previously were uninsured. Because their income is so low, they have no other options for affordable health coverage.

Few details of what Trump and the Republican Congress plan to do about the health care law have emerged. But repealing key aspects of the law, without having clear plans to replace it, is a cause for concern, U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, a Democrat from Long Branch, said Monday.

Read more: http://www.northjersey.com/story/news/new-jersey/2016/11/28/republican-promise-to-repeal-key-aspect-of-affordable-care-act-would-hit-new-jersey-hard/94567316/