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Dear
friends,
As
I
send
this
note
to
you,
13
Republican
men
are
meeting
behind
closed
doors,
secretly
writing
a
healthcare
bill
–
a
bill
that
will
impact
every
American
and
one-sixth
of
our
nation’s
economy.
I
haven’t
seen
their
plan
and
I
know
you
haven’t
either.
Because
there
hasn’t
been
a
single
public
meeting
or
hearing
to
discuss
it.
It’s
pretty
clear
why
Senate
Republicans
are
hiding
their
plan
to
gut
the
Affordable
Care
Act
from
the
American
people.
They
are
ashamed
of
it.
Because
if
it’s
anything
like
the
House
Republican
bill
that
passed
earlier
this
year,
it’s
going
to
be
mean-spirited
and
devastating
for
our
families
–
stripping
health
insurance
from
millions
of
people.
Sadly,
that’s
what
we
expect.
,
or
AHCA,
as
I
believe
it
is
cruel
and
won’t
improve
anyone’s
healthcare.
Here’s
what
we
know
about
it,
by
the
numbers:
NINE
HUNDRED
PERCENT
A
60-year-old
in
Monmouth
County
who
makes
$20,000
a
year
would
see
premiums
rise
to
$9,660
from
$960,
according
to
the
Kaiser
Family
Foundation.
That’s
an
increase
of
over
900%!
NINETY-FIVE
PERCENT
Under
the
House
Republican
healthcare
proposal,
95%
of
New
Jerseyans
wouldn’t
get
a
tax
cut,
but
the
wealthiest
FIVE
PERCENT
would
receive
a
total
of
$13
billion
in
tax
cuts
over
10
years.
New
Jersey
Policy
Perspective
explains
that,
“the
wealthiest
1
percent
of
New
Jersey
taxpayers
would
receive
73
percent
of
the
tax
cut.
These
taxpayers,
with
an
average
annual
income
of
$2.9
million,
would
receive
an
average
tax
cut
of
$23,000
a
year.”
TWENTY-SEVEN
BILLION
The
House
Republicans’
bill
proposes
ending
federal
funding
for
the
ACA’s
expansion
of
Medicaid,
which
would
force
New
Jersey
taxpayers
to
fork
over
nearly
$27
billion
more
a
year
in
taxes
to
cover
the
increased
costs
of
covering
552,000
New
Jerseyans
with
Medicaid.
FIVE
HUNDRED
AND
FORTY
THOUSAND
The
latest
estimates
are
that
through
Medicaid
cuts
and
the
loss
of
health
insurance
subsidies,
540,000
New
Jerseyans
would
lose
their
health
insurance
under
the
House
Republican
bill.
FIFTY-FOUR
THOUSAND
54,000
New
Jerseyans
with
jobs
tied
to
Medicaid
and
tax
credits
could
lose
their
job
if
the
House
Republicans’
healthcare
bill
were
to
become
law.
SIX
BILLION
PLUS
The
massive
funding
cuts
to
healthcare
and
New
Jerseyans
losing
their
health
insurance
would
translate
to
$6.6
billion
in
lost
economic
activity
in
the
state
of
New
Jersey
alone.
TEN
Ten
out
of
12
New
Jersey
members
of
the
House
of
Representatives,
both
Republicans
and
Democrats,
agree
that
the
House
Republican
bill
is
too
mean
for
New
Jersey,
and
voted
against
it.
...So,
what
happens
next?
SEVEN
In
just
seven
days,
Republican
leaders
in
the
Senate
expect
us
to
vote
on
a
bill
that
we
haven’t
even
seen!
This
is
a
bill
that
would
completely
upend
1/6th
of
our
economy,
and
impact
the
lives
of
millions
of
Americans.
ZERO
That’s
the
number
of
public
hearings
Senate
Republicans
have
told
us
we
should
expect
on
their
bill.
Keep
in
mind
that
when
Democrats
passed
the
Affordable
Care
Act
in
2009,
we
had
held
53
bipartisan
meetings,
hearings,
briefings
and
roundtable
discussions
in
the
Finance
Committee
alone.
TWENTY
Twenty
hours.
That’s
how
long
we
will
be
allowed
to
debate
the
Republican
health
care
bill
when
they
bring
it
to
the
floor.
Think
about
that
–
less
than
one
day
will
be
spent
debating
a
bill
that
will
affect
every
American
for
years
to
come.
When
we
finally
brought
the
Affordable
Care
Act
to
the
floor,
both
Republicans
and
Democrats
spent
25
straight
days
debating
it
in
front
of
the
American
people.
The
secret
process
Senate
Republicans
are
using
to
jam
this
bill
through
is
absurd
and
completely
unacceptable.
The
fear
is
real
-
they
want
to
bring
the
bill
to
the
floor,
rush
it
in
the
dark
of
night,
for
a
simple
reason
– they
are
ashamed
of
it.
I’m
proud
of
work
we
did
to
expand
health
insurance
coverage
to
millions,
and
provide
necessary
protections
for
working
families
and
those
with
pre-existing
conditions.
I
will
be
fighting
to
protect
your
healthcare
with
everything
I’ve
got.
Sincerely,
U.S.
Senator
Bob
Menendez
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