County of Hunterdon Resolution
A RES OLU TION urging the Congress and President of the United
States not to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
without adequately replacing it at the same time
WHEREAS, In 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
(ACA), was passed by Congress and signed into law by the President; and
WHEREAS, Congress is considering repealing the ACA and replacing it
with the American Health Care Act; and
WHEREAS, there is no guarantee that the replacement will provide the
same level of health coverage and protections for New Jerseyans; and
WHEREAS, Congress repeal and replacement plan proposes to phase out
the Medicaid expansion and sharply reduce federal Medicaid funding in
New Jersey by instituting a per-capita cap jeopardizing health services to
many of the 1.8 million seniors, people with disabilities, and the working
poor who rely on this assistance, and shift major costs to the state and
localities; and
WH E R E A S C o n g r e s s m a n L e o n a r d L a n c e h a s i n d i c a t e d t h a t h e d o e s
not support the current bill before Congress to replace the ACA; and
WHEREAS, It has been estimated that repealing the Medicaid expansion
alone would result in approximately 550,000 adults in New Jersey, or
approximately 10 percent of the State’s adult population, losing
coverage. This estimate includes both those who became newly eligible
for Medicaid under the ACA expansion and those who were covered prior
to the enactment of the ACA under waivers that have since expired; and
WH E R E A S , Nearly two thirds of those at risk of losing Medicaid
coverage following a repeal of the ACA are either active in the
workforce or live in a working household, but have a household
income that makes health insurance unaffordable without assistance; in
many cases, access to health coverage is essential to keeping the
working members of the household in the workforce; and
WH E R E A S , It is further estimated that the Medicaid repeal alone could
cause New Jersey to lose approximately $3 billion in federal funds
in each year following repeal and an additional $4.1 billion in lost
economic activity and jobs, particularly in the health care industry; and

 W H E R E A S , in the county of Hunterdon, 11,000 residents would lose
benefits; 3400 residents now enrolled under the Medicaid expansion and
4600 residents enrolled in plans through the Health Insurance
Marketplace would lose coverage, and 3000 seniors and disabled who are
covered by the closing of the Medicare donut hole could face higher outof-pocket costs for prescriptions, and
WH E R E A S , i n H u n t e r d o n C o u n t y, H u n t e r d o n M e d i c a l C e n t e r w o u l d
stand to lose $8,465,188 in funding; and
WH E R E A S , Repealing the ACA will reverse both the positive reductions in
the uninsured and the use of hospital emergency departments for primary
care and the positive reductions in incidents of unnecessar hospitalization
that were achieved through the use of expanded primary care and
community resources; an uptick in uncompensated care and inappropriate
hospital use will undermine the financial stability of hospitals while driving
up the overall cost of health care in the State; and
BE IT RE S O LV E D by the Freeholder Board in the County of Hunterdon,
State of New Jersey urge Congress and the President of the United States
not to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and to
ensure that any revisions or modifications to the law maintain the same
level of coverage and protections now guaranteed for those individuals
who would otherwise lose their health benefits upon repeal and preserve
the significant gains that have been realized in the years since its
enactment.
BE IT RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution will be delivered to
Congressman Leonard Lance and United States Senators Cory Booker
and Robert Menendez who represent the people of Hunterdon County.