Jack Ciattarelli: “I’d be calling every one of our fourteen members of the Congress – the two U.S. senators, the twelve House members – to make sure they’re voting yes on this.”

TRENTON, NJ – As more and more and more New Jersey outlets warn of the damaging consequences of the Republican price hike bill signed into law by Donald Trump and cheerleaded by Jack Ciattarelli, NorthJersey.com’s Editorial Board writes today that the bill “spells disaster for health care in New Jersey.”

“New Jersey's most vulnerable face deep uncertainty”

“The impacts of those cuts are devastating for the Garden State”

Jack Ciattarelli’s thoughts on all this? 

“Shame on any Republican across the country who doesn’t support this.”

NorthJersey.com: Trump's tax cut bill decimates Medicaid in NJ. Republicans are accountable. | Editorial

By the USA TODAY Network New Jersey Editorial Board

• The so-called “Big, Beautiful Bill” — the federal budget package narrowly passed by both houses of Congress before it was signed by President Donald Trump on July 4 — spells disaster for health care in New Jersey.

• The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has projected that nearly 12 million Americans will lose Medicaid coverage over [the next decade].

• The impacts of those cuts are devastating for the Garden State — and many of its most vulnerable residents in particular.

• More than 350,000 New Jersey residents, according to the state Department of Human Services, are likely to lose health care coverage as significant cuts to Medicaid are expected to detrimentally affect NJ FamilyCare, the state-run program that administers federal health benefits. That means 1 in 5 New Jersey residents who receive Medicaid benefits will lose their coverage.

• New Jersey hospitals and public health institutions, meanwhile, are anticipating more than $3.3 billion annually in funding cuts. 

• Also forthcoming are significant cuts to SNAP, the former food stamp program, which is relied on by 800,000 New Jersey residents — more than 60% of whom are children or seniors. 

• “Our country is built on the promise of the American Dream — that this country provides opportunity for everyone,” [Congresswoman Mikie] Sherrill said on July 3. “This bill is ripping apart the very foundation of that dream by giving handouts to the richest Americans while making working families pay the price. As billionaires line their pockets, children will go hungry, seniors will not be able to access health care, and New Jerseyans will see their monthly bills go up.”

• [Reps.] Kean, Smith and Van Drew should be ready to face [New Jerseyans’] questions and concerns — and we strongly encourage our readers to place calls and send letters to their offices now… they should be prepared to be held accountable at the ballot box, too.