Nearly a half-million people could find themselves without health insurance if the Trump Administration decides to prune Medicaid as part of its repeal of Obamacare, according to data released by a think tank.
Nearly one-tenth of working-age adults in New Jersey could lose health coverage if Donald J. Trump's promised repeal of Obamacare includes ditching the expansion of Medicaid, according to data released by a health care group.
While most of the campaign rhetoric about Obamacare focused on the subsidized policies bought through the federal marketplace, the law's big impact in New Jersey was for people who became eligible for Medicaid, said Ray Castro of New Jersey Policy Perspective, a liberal think tank.
"I cannot recall a proposal that would cause that much harm in New Jersey," said Castro. "It's pretty stunning."
In all, about a half-million state residents who previously were on the bubble - too poor to buy private insurance, but making too much for Medicaid - would lose coverage.
That, in turn, would put a strain on hospitals, which could no longer count on their ER patients having at least Medicaid, said Neil Eicher, with the New Jersey Hospital Association.
"That would be devastating to the industry, and quite frankly, some hospitals would just not survive that," Eicher said.
About two-thirds of those at risk for losing Medicaid coverage are either working or living in households where someone works, Castro's group estimated.
Those new Medicaid recipients typically have low-paying jobs in restaurants and food services, elementary and secondary schools, health home care, department stores, custodial services, construction, day care, nursing care, and grocery stores.
And they live all over the state, with 3,100 living in Hunterdon County, one of the wealthiest counties in the country.
That's the conclusion of a crunch of census and income data by New Jersey Policy Perspective designed to see how New Jersey would fare if the incoming Republican majority remakes health care as promised.
Ten cities account for about of a third of the people who got Medicaid coverage when Obamacare went into effect: Newark, Jersey City, Paterson, Camden, Elizabeth, Lakewood, Passaic, Trenton, East Orange and Union.
Kathleen O'Brien may be reached at kobrien@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @OBrienLedger. Find NJ.com on Facebook.