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| For Immediate Release | Contact | Phone | |
| Thursday, April 1, 2010 | Eve Weissman NJ Citizen Action |
732-246-4772 | eve@njcitizenaction.org |
| Ev Liebman NJ Citizen Action |
856-966-3091 | ev@njcitizenaction.org | |
New Jersey Health Care Advocates Send Open Letter to Governor Christie Urging him to Oppose Legal, Legislative or Other Challenges to Block Implementation of Historic Federal Health Care Reform
*** NJ Policy Perspective's New Analysis Describes Benefits of Federal Health Care Reform for NJ — SEE LETTER (Click Here) -&- REPORT (Click Here) ***
Newark, NJ — Today, Thursday, April 1, 2010, members of the NJ For Health Care Coalition, a broad-based alliance of over 60 health care, consumer, senior, student, disability, women's, labor, faith-based, civil rights and social justice organizations representing over 2 million members, sent an open letter (click here) to NJ Governor Chris Christie urging him not to pursue legal, legislative or other challenges intended to thwart implementation of the recently passed federal health care reform.
"The health care reform package passed last week is good for New Jersey families, small businesses and the state and local economy," said Eve Weissman, Health Care Campaign Coordinator for New Jersey Citizen Action. "It would be a disservice to the people of NJ and misguided to block implementation of reforms that will provide real benefits to hundreds of thousands of NJ residents and businesses, cut health care costs and lower the nation's deficit. Legal experts across the country have certified that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is legal and will pass any test of constitutional legitimacy."
The letter was accompanied by a new analysis (click here) prepared by Ray Castro, Senior Policy Analyst at New Jersey Policy Perspective, describing how national reform will impact New Jersey and the benefits to families with and without insurance, small businesses, and seniors.
According to recent news reports (AP article – click here), Gov. Christie is considering joining 14 other states in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the national health care reform bill signed into law by President Barack Obama last week. The Governor is discussing the matter with Attorney General Paula T. Dow and Health Commissioner Poonam Alaigh.
Federal health reform will expand health coverage to 32 million people, including over 859,000 New Jerseyans, prohibit insurance company from denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions or dropping coverage when you get sick, strengthen Medicaid and Medicare, and lower prescription drug costs by closing the Medicaid Part D donut hole for 227,000 thousand NJ senior citizens. NJ will also receive a $28 billion increase in federal funding for Medicaid and private health insurance subsidies between 2014 and 2019.
On Tuesday, March 30, 2010 the NJ Main Street Alliance, a coalition of over 650 small business owners across the State sent a similar letter to Gov. Christie, touting the benefits of national health care reform for small businesses and urging the Governor not to challenge the constitutionality of the federal health reform bill that was signed into law last week.
"In a time of fiscal crisis, having the State Attorney General tilting political windmills with scarce tax payer dollars is not acceptable," said Kelly Conklin, owner of Foley-Waite Associates in Bloomfield, NJ. "By postponing the implementation of this legislation in any way, the Governor will be costing small businesses time and money. Please allow us to take advantage of the benefits of this bill as soon as possible so that we can stop worrying about health care and start worrying about investing in our businesses and communities."
There is both legal and policy precedent for national health care reform including the individual mandate requiring people purchase health insurance. An insurance mandate is incorporated in New Jersey's KidsFirst initiative that requires all New Jersey Children have health insurance, a 2008 law that was passed with broad bi-partisan support by the State Legislature.
The federal reform act's individual mandate is virtually identical to the health reform program in Massachusetts, a program that was championed and passed under then-Governor Mitt Romney.
In a 2005 decision, the Supreme Court clarified the scope of the commerce power and reaffirmed the core principle that dissident states cannot thwart national policy. Justice Antonin Scalia wrote, "Congress may regulate even noneconomic local activity if that regulation is a necessary part of a more general regulation of interstate commerce." Gonzales v. Raich (03-1454) 545 U.S. 1 (2005)
In an October 2009 article, Erwin Chemerinski, the Dean of the University of California, Irvine School of Law, argued that since the 1930s the Supreme Court has accorded Congress broad tax and spend powers for the general welfare and given Congress the discretion to determine this. Article available at: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1009/28620.html (or this same article in PDF format – click here).
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New Jersey Citizen Action is the State's largest citizen watchdog coalition, representing over 60,000 family members and over 100 affiliated organizations across the State. NJCA works to protect and expand the rights of individuals and families and to ensure that government officials respond to the needs of people rather than the interests of those with money and power.
NJ For Health Care is a broad-based alliance of over 60 health care, consumer, senior, student, disability, women's, labor, faith-based, civil rights and social justice organizations representing over 2 million members, working to bring guaranteed, high quality, affordable health care to all New Jersey residents a broad-based alliance made up of over 60 health care, consumer, senior, student, disability, women's, labor, faith-based, civil rights and social justice organizations representing over 2 million New Jersey residents working to bring guaranteed, high quality, affordable health care to all.
