Washington D.C.-based America's Essential Hospitals said if Congress repeals the ACA and does not replace it with a "comparable" plan, its safety-net hospital members will lose up to $40.5 billion nationwide.
The losses would reflect the decrease in coverage under an ACA repeal, cuts to Medicaid disproportionate share hospital funding and Medicare from 2018 through 2026, according to the association's policy brief.
In addition, the association said even if Congress followed a December 2015 repeal plan, which rescinded the Medicaid DSH cuts, its members would face a $16.8 billion loss over the same period.
"These numbers really show what's at stake for the patients who depend on the doors being open at essential hospitals," said Bruce Siegel, MD, president and CEO of America's Essential Hospitals. "These are unsustainable losses that would jeopardize vital services and access to care in communities across the country."