New Jersey Senate Deputy Republican Leader Diane Allen called on Jon Corzine to join the bipartisan chorus urging Congress to delay a vote on a health care reform bill until Washington figures out a way to pay for the plan without shifting costs to the states. Governors of both parties meeting in Mississippi over the weekend expressed grave doubts about the bill’s impact. Democrat Governors Christine Gregorie of Washington, Phil Bredesen of Tennessee and Bill Richardson of New Mexico were among those who said Washington appeared poised to require that states pick up billions in Medicaid obligations without providing federal aid to pay for them.
“Governor Corzine should add his voice to those insisting that health care reform be done right,” Senator Allen said. “New Jersey can’t afford a bill that requires the state to pay for more unfunded mandates from Washington.”
Senator Allen noted that the Obama administration has insisted that health care reform must both cut costs and not add to the deficit in the federal budget.
“Pushing costs onto the states saves the taxpayers no money,” Senator Allen said. “In New Jersey, we’re already facing a deficit of $6 billion to $10 billion in 2011. We can’t afford new mandates that will tie the hands of the next governor as he struggles to deal with an unprecedented fiscal crisis.”
No comments:
Post a Comment