The American Hospital Association (AHA) and the Federation of American Hospitals (FAH) released a report on December 6, "Estimating the Impact of Repealing the Affordable Care Act on Hospitals." The analysis is based on the potential effects of H.R. 3762, an attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in December 2015 that was passed by Congress but vetoed by President Obama.
The report estimates a net impact on hospitals of $165.8 billion between 2018 and 2026 in the event of a repeal of the ACA provisions that reinstated certain Medicare and Medicaid payment cuts. The report predicts additional losses of $289.5 billion if the hospital inflation updates provided in the ACA were rescinded.
The AHA and FAH noted, "Losses of this magnitude cannot be sustained and will adversely impact patients' access to care, decimate hospitals' and health systems' ability to provide services, weaken local economies that hospitals help sustain and grow, and result in massive job losses." Both organizations have called on the President-elect and congressional leaders to engage with hospitals in designing a replacement for the ACA and determining next steps.
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