Illinois is among the top 20 states that would be most hurt by a repeal of the Affordable Care Act.
The company WalletHub ranks Illinois 19th in its analysis of all 50 states that found certain states stand to suffer more than others.
Analysts compiled data across seven key indicators of losses, in terms of economy and health coverage. WalletHub analyst Jill Gonzalez says in addition to 850,000 Illinois residents losing health care coverage, a repeal without replacement would result in 865 job losses.
“In terms of federal funds, in terms of business output itself, which is usually the largest decrease we see in a lot of these states, in terms of gross state product, state and local taxes, all numbers here were negative,” Gonzalez said.
Analysts estimate Illinois’ Gross State Product loss would be about $500 million, with the repeal of Obamacare.
The analysis compared all fifty states and DC using data compiled from the Commonwealth Fund, the US census, and the National Conference of State Legislature. But Gonzelez says even states like Texas, which ranked 51, would be affected by a repeal.
“Texas, for instance, still will see about a 60 percent increase in its uninsured rate. So, we didn’t see any numbers that were small, by any means,” Gonzalez said.
Last week, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to repeal the ACA without a replacement.