A new SHADAC brief examines the implications of an Affordable Care Act repeal for Minnesota. The authors, SHADAC Research Assistant Robert Hest and SHADAC Director Lynn Blewett, present an overview of the the impact of the ACA's coverage expansions in the state and highlight the potential for losses with a repeal. They look specifically at rates of health insurance coverage, hospital uncompensated care, and levels of federal health funding for Minnesota's public coverage programs.
- The ACA reduced the number of uninsured in Minnesota by nearly 200,000 (almost one half), bringing the state's uninsurance rate down to 4.5 percent from 8.3 percent. 1
- Minnesota's hospital uncompensated care fell by $53 million (a 16.7 percent decrease). 2
With an ACA repeal
- The number of uninsured Minnesotans would more than double. 3
- Minnesota's hospital uncompensated care would increase by an estimated $548 million by 2019. 4
The authors also emphasize that individuals enrolled in health plans through MNsure received an estimated $115 million in tax credits and cost-sharing reductions from the federal government in 2016--funds that would no longer be available with an ACA repeal. 5 Moreover, the State of Minnesota stands to lose the $2 billion in annual federal funding that it currently receives for Medical Assistance and MinnesotaCare, along with $80.8 million in federal Preventional and Public Health fund grants. 6, 7
1 SHADAC Analysis of the 2013-2015 American Community Survey
2 Minnesota Department of Health: Health Economics Program. "Uncompensated Care at Minnesota Hospitals Drops for the Second Year in a Row," October 31, 2016. http://www.health.state.mn.us/news/pressrel/2016/costs103116.pdf
3 SHADAC Analysis of the 2015 American Community Survey
4 Buettgens, M., Blumber, L., & Holahan, J. "The Impact on Health Care PRoviders of Partial ACA Repeal through Reconciliation," Urban Institute, January 2017. http://www.rwjf.org/content/dam/farm/reports/issue_briefs/2017/rwjf433621
5 Kaiser Family Foundation. "Estimated Total PRemium Tax Credits Received by Marketplace Enrollees," March 31, 2016. http://kff.org/health-reform/state-indicator/average-monthly-advance-premium-tax-credit-aptc/
6 Minnesota Department of Human Services. "Repealing the Affordable Care Act: Impacts to Minnesota's Public Healthcare Programs," January 6, 2017. http://mn.gov/dhs/aca-repeal/issue-brief/
7 Trust for America's Health. "Minnesota Could Lose More than $80 Million to Fight Health Epidemics over Five Years if the ACA and Prevention and Public Health Fund Are Repealed," 2017. http://healthyamericans.org/reports/prevention-fund-state-facts-2017/release.php?stateid=MN