Major Victory for New Jerseyans: The Affordable Care Act Will Help Fix New Jersey’s Health Care Problem
June 28th, 2012 | by Raymond J Castro | Published in NJPP Blog: As a Matter of Fact ..., Press Releases | 1 Comment
New Jersey will have the tools to tackle its health care problem as a result of the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act, an analysis by New Jersey Policy Perspective shows (click here to read it as a PDF; it is also pasted below).
“All New Jerseyans scored a major victory today. For the first time, everyone now has a right to high quality, affordable comprehensive health coverage and will no longer have to worry about going bankrupt to pay for medical bills,” says Raymond Castro, senior policy analyst for New Jersey Policy Perspective. “Many New Jerseyans who don’t have health insurance will now be able to get it, while people who already have employer-based insurance will no longer have to worry about losing health coverage if they lose their job, as so many have. It also greatly benefits New Jersey’s small businesses, which increasingly have been dropping unaffordable insurance plans for their employees.”
Nearly 1 million New Jerseyans in every county will receive Medicaid and federal subsidies to make health insurance more affordable; those subsidies will reduce the number of uninsured by nearly 800,000 in New Jersey – a number that could be substantially higher if the state does a good job with outreach and consumer assistance. As of 2010, there were over 1.3 million New Jerseyans without health insurance; that number has been growing at a much greater rate here than it has nationally (55% v. 35% since 2000).
New Jersey’s economy will also benefit from the Court’s decision. New Jerseyans will receive about $41 billion in federally funded Medicaid and federal subsidies over eight years, creating a ripple effect of economic growth that will create new jobs and opportunities for many New Jerseyans.
The number of New Jerseyans without health insurance has increased by about 400,000 in ten years
The rate of increase has been much higher in New Jersey (55%) than nationally (35%)
Nearly a million New Jerseyans will receive federal subsidies to make insurance more affordable, reducing the number of uninsured by about 800,000
About $41 billion in federal funds will be spent in New Jersey on subsidies to make insurance affordable, which will also help the state’s economy
New Jerseyans in all counties will be able to obtain insurance
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June 28th, 2012at 1:27 PM(#)
Where will the funds for covering one million NJ residents come from?
What will happen to struggling middle class people who are making it, barely, in the recession in part because they are not paying 4-600+ a month on health care premiums? What are they supposed to do if they can’t afford $7,000 a year in health care expenses?
There is a provision that insurance companies can only use 20 percent towards advertising and profits – will this actually reduce premiums?