The Maryland Department of Legislative Services (DLS) released a report assessing the impacts of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on Maryland. The report also includes an overview of the potential effects of plans to repeal or replace the act.

As reported in The Baltimore Business Journal:

The DLS report notes that considering the results of the most recent presidential and Congressional elections, “substantial revision or repeal of the ACA is anticipated.” Given that, legislators detailed some of the possible financial and policy impacts for Maryland.

Here are some of the potential effects of repeal/replace plans:

• If enhanced federal funding is repealed, Maryland must decide whether to maintain and how to fund Medicaid expansion. The net cost to Maryland would be $1.27 billion in fiscal 2018, rising to $1.50 billion in fiscal 2022.
• Loss of an enhanced matching rate for the Maryland Children’s Health Program would increase general fund spending by an estimated $68.0 million in fiscal 2018, $72.8 million in fiscal 2019, and $19.5 million in fiscal 2020.
• The state will need to decide whether to continue the state’s health exchange and how to continue funding it. State law mandates an annual appropriation of at least $35 million to support the exchange.
• Repeal of the ACA could impact Maryland’s all-payer model, which governs hospital rate setting. Maryland could eventually lose the model contract — a kind of pilot program for the state — putting in jeopardy $2.3 billion in Medicare and Medicaid payments to state hospitals per year.

For more information read The Baltimore Business Journal and the DLS report “Assessing the Impact of Health Care Reform in Maryland“.