According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), full implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will result in a slowing of both gross state income and total paid hours worked, as businesses try to avoid the expenses of providing health care. Applying the CBO’s estimates to Alabama, between 155 million and 207 million paid work hours are expected to be lost, as well as more than $2 billion worth of income. As the CBO’s report notes, this reduction of hours does not mean jobs will be lost; rather, employers will reduce workers’ hours to the point that it would be the equivalent of losing between 22,700-30,300 jobs between 2017-2022.
