Uncertainty about what happens if the Affordable Care Act is repealed

(KMSP) - With Congress laying the ground work for repealing the Affordable Care Act, Minnesotans are left wondering what that means for them?

Roger Feldman, of the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, has spent his career focusing on health insurance research.

Feldman says the overnight vote that took aim at the financial arm of the Affordable Care Act will dismantle Minnesota’s health insurance exchange, assuming the House of Representatives also approves the measure.

“Not only will MNSure bite the dust but the whole individual market will follow,” said Feldman.

According to MNSure, more than 100,000 people have enrolled in health insurance during the current enrollment period. 62 percent of those Minnesotans qualified for financial assistance, receiving an average of $7,500 in tax credits per year.

“If that were taken away, folks couldn’t afford the insurance policies, they would drop it unless they were really sick,” Feldman adds, “and MNsure would death spiral out of existence.”

While republicans still haven’t decided on what will replace Obamacare, President-Elect Donald Trump said he would put forth a plan as soon as his nominee for secretary of health and human services, Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.), is confirmed.