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Efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act could take away health insurance from millions of Californians, while also eliminating 209,000 jobs and costing the state economy $20.3 billion in GDP, says a new report from the Center for Labor Research and Education at the University of California, Berkeley.

Center researchers conclude that the state’s Central Valley — which is already struggling with high unemployment — will be among California’s hardest hit regions as residents there also rely heavily on Medi-Cal.

Not only would California experience substantial loss of jobs and GDP, but the researchers estimate that the state and local governments would lose a total of $1.5 billion in tax revenue as a result of declines in income tax, sales tax, and other tax revenue.

On the other hand, repealing the ACA could include tax cuts to high-income individuals and insurers; and the elimination of penalties for uninsured individuals and large employers not offering affordable health insurance to employees. The economic effects of these changes, worth a combined total of $7.6 billion to California’s residents and businesses, are included in the study.

 

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Source: University of California – Berkeley

Research Reference:

California’s Projected Economic Losses under ACA Repeal: laborcenter.berkeley.edu/californias-projected-economic-losses-under-aca-repeal/