New England is one of the fastest aging regions in the country. To keep up with the demand for care of the elderly, there is an increasing dependence on nursing assistants and home health workers. But those workers could be affected if the Affordable Care Act is repealed.

Every New England state – except Maine – opted to expand Medicaid coverage as part of the ACA.

If this expansion is phased out in a repeal, a new study shows one third of direct care workers could lose their health coverage.

The study’s author, Stephen Campbell, is a researcher at Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute, a group advocating for higher wages and better benefits for care providers.

“If direct care workers lose coverage, we’re concerned that they won’t be able to afford the care that they need to manage the conditions that they have, and that they would either leave the labor force or call in sick,” said Campbell.  

Campbell says this in turn could make it more difficult for older New Englanders to find care workers.