Report: Ending Affordable Care Act subsidies could raise Georgia health costs by $2 billion

The topic at the center of the budget dispute that could lead to a federal government shutdown at midnight Tuesday is health care — specifically, should Congress extend enhanced federal subsidies for the so-called Obamacare health insurance plans beyond the end of the year?

For consumers and hospitals in Georgia, the stakes are high as Republicans — most of whom are ready to end the subsidies— and Democrats — who want to continue them — try to find common ground. 

Ending the subsidies will mean $1.6 billion in lost revenue for hospitals in Georgia next year — and lead to $2 billion in higher costs for Georgians who rely on these plans for health insurance, according to a report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Urban Institute, which study health care policy and the consequences of federal social safety net programs.