Governor’s Analysis Shows ACA Replacement Could Cost CT Millions

Although the GOP’s plan to replace the Affordable Care Act has been put on hold, Gov. Dannel Malloy’s team put together an analysis of its potential costs, should it eventually go into effect. According to a report from the CT Mirror, the proposed plan could add anywhere from $89 million to $539 million to Connecticut’s budget.
Several factors contribute to this major expense. For one, a larger portion of health care costs would be shifted directly onto the states, increasing to $1 billion per year for Connecticut by 2020.
Additionally, the new plan changes how Medicaid is funded. Rather than the current system, the government would assign each state a set amount and they have to foot the rest of the costs themselves. This action could have significant ramifications. In Connecticut, about 34,000 individuals would lose coverage and, to prevent costs from getting out of control, states may decide to restrict benefits, reduce the number of people receiving benefits or reduce the rates they pay to insurance companies.
Connecticut could lose anywhere from $30 million to $80 million from payments related to the ACA’s Medicaid expansion. With this new plan, states would continue receiving the same level of funding that they currently do until 2019, but by 2020, the overall funding would be greatly reduced.
Funding would also be cut for other programs: About $3 million for the Community First Choice program, an extension of Medicaid for home care, and an additional $6 million that would otherwise go toward prevention and public health.
Although many of these changes could be years away, it’s a good idea to think about what you would do if your ACA policy gets cut or you find yourself without insurance. To explore your options, give Ion Insurance a call at 203.439.2815.