Ninety thousand New Jersey residents next year will lose their low-cost bare-bones health plans issued by the state's largest insurer — forcing them to purchase new Obamacare policies, possibly with subsidies, or pay a fine.

The announcement by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey came just 90 minutes after Governor Christie said he would leave the decision about whether to renew all kinds of canceled health policies to the insurers, which President Obama said earlier this month they could do with state approval.

Calling the Affordable Care Act "a mess," Christie said, "New Jersey has decided to let the free market dictate the way forward."

The most popular type of coverage for people who buy their own insurance — a so-called basic and essential plan — would have to be redesigned to do away with its $600 annual limit on preventive care, $700 limit on visits to doctors for illness and $500 limit on outpatient testing, according to the state Insurance Department.

Such a redesigned plan "would cost substantially more," Horizon said in a statement. We do not consider that a viable option for our individual members."