NEWARK - Repealing the Affordable Care Act would be "devastating" for New Jersey residents and put hospitals at risk, too, health care leaders said Saturday during a roundtable discussion organized by U.S. Rep. Donald Payne Jr.
"We are very concerned that at the end of the day that 30 million Americans who have benefited from this Affordable Care Act will find themselves without health care once again and that is frightening," said Payne (D-10th). "This is not just an urban, underserved, uninsured issue, this is an issue across my district."
Payne said he was one of more than 80 Democratic members of the House of Representative who held discussions with their constituents across the nation on Saturday on the impact of repeal and ways to oppose it.
Healthcare workers said they worried about their patients and whether they would have access to the same level of treatment. Hospital leaders said any Medicaid rollbacks would put them at financial risk. And residents worried about how family members with pre-existing conditions or who receive no insurance from their jobs would find affordable coverage.
"We keep hearing repeal and replace. Why not keep and improve?" asked Montclair resident Phoebe Del Boccio. "That's the direction we should be going in."
The uninsured rate in New Jersey dropped to 4.3 percent from 12.3 percent, said Tatiana Castrillon, a patient care advocate manager for Alliance Community Healthcare/Horizon.
"The American people need this, they want this," she said. Repealing Obamacare "is going to bring down the overall well being of our community."
Newark Beth Israel Medical Center had about 20,000 more Medicaid patient visits in 2016 than 2014, said Chief Financial Officer Douglas Zehner. States were allowed to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.
"What does having access to Medicaid mean? It means access to doctors, it means access to care," he said, adding: "40,000 people in Newark alone could be affected if it's repealed."
Industry leaders and even residents acknowledge the law had its flaws - like raising premiums for some. But they agreed those areas could be fixed, rather than the whole system overhauled.
"We have seen the premiums go up for us and it totally sucks," said South Orange resident Susan Hyon. "But I feel like it's important and we're willing to take a hit for the team by dealing with higher premiums."
Payne agreed and said Democrats would fight repeal, especially because the GOP had not proposed a detailed replacement plan.
"If you've railed against something for eight years you would think you would have some idea of what you want to do," Payne said. "Anything of this size or magnitude is going to have problems. It is a system that is supposed to evolve over time and become part of the fabric of this country."
During his weekly news conference, House Speaker Paul Ryan said Republicans would introduce a replacement bill for Obamacare once lawmakers return from next week's break.
Karen Yi may be reached at kyi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @karen_yi or on Facebook.
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