Rep. Johnson Highlights New Report Showing GOP’s ACA Repeal Plan Would Result in Georgia Losing 70,000 Jobs in 2019 Alone
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Hank Johnson (GA-04) announced that a new report finds that Georgia would lose more than 70,000 jobs and the nation overall would lose a total of 2.6 million jobs in 2019 alone as a result of the Republicans' repeal of the Affordable Care Act. About one-third of the jobs lost would be in health care, but the majority would be in other industries like construction, real estate, retail trade, finance, and insurance.
This report documents how the ACA repeal would have consequences well beyond the health care system – leading to substantial job losses and losses in state economic activity.
"This new report shows that, in addition to stripping away the affordable health care coverage of millions of Americans, the Republicans' ACA repeal would have a significant impact on killing jobs and weakening economic growth in Georgia, as well as in states across the country," Rep Johnson stated.
The state-by-state report was prepared by the nonpartisan Commonwealth Fund and George Washington University's Milken Institute School of Public Health. It analyzes the economic impact of the repeal of two specific provisions of the Affordable Care Act – the premium tax credits for individuals in the ACA Marketplaces and the Medicaid expansion.
In addition to job loss, the report also analyzes what the impact of ACA repeal would be on each state's gross state product (the state-level equivalent to the national Gross Domestic Product) and state and local taxes:
• The Loss of Gross State Product in Georgia: The report finds that repealing the ACA would result in the loss of $39 million in gross state product, a key indicator of economic health, in Georgia from 2019 to 2023.
• The Loss of State and Local Taxes in Georgia: The report also finds that repealing the ACA would result in the loss of $1 billion in state and local taxes in Georgia from 2019 to 2023 – placing an enormous strain on the state budget.
In addition, the study finds that, nationwide, ACA repeal would result in the loss of $256 billion in gross state products in 2019 and a cumulative loss of $1.5 trillion in gross state products from 2019 to 2023.
"This report confirms that the people of our state of Georgia simply cannot afford the disastrous GOP ACA repeal plan," Rep. Johnson concluded. "Not only would the repeal strip many of our residents of their health coverage, it would also cost us tens of thousands of jobs, weaken our economy, and dig a deep hole in our state budget. Democrats will not stand by and allow the dismantling of the health and financial security of so many hard-working American families."
###