Dear Neighbor,
On Thursday, I was proud to announce that I secured a legislative path with RWJBarnabas Health and New Jersey legislative leaders on legislation that would keep the lifesaving acute-care inpatient hospital services everyone deserves and relies upon at Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch.
This news came on the same day as the State Health Commissioner approving RWJ Barnabas’s application for a new hospital in Tinton Falls, which also required that the emergency department and outpatient surgery services, including specialty clinics and imaging services, remain in Long Branch indefinitely. In addition, the behavioral health hospital with both inpatient and outpatient services will also stay in Long Branch.
Our agreement would leave the Long Branch hospital with sufficient medical services to carry out its mission for the Long Branch community. From the moment I was informed that Long Branch area residents would lose inpatient hospital services and a full-scale Emergency Department I was worried that vulnerable populations would lose access to care. While I can fully appreciate the value of a new hospital in Tinton Falls, I could not let that be at the expense of those in the Long Branch area that face the biggest barriers to health care. I want to thank RWJ Barnabas Health leadership, Governor Murphy and the state legislators who are sponsoring this bill (State Senators Gopal and Vitale, Assemblywomen Donlon and Peterpaul). They worked hard with me to find a solution.
You can read more about our agreement HERE.
The House voted to make your health care affordable. What will the Senate do?
The national health care crisis hasn’t gone away, however. Republicans in Washington still have their same old agenda: jacking up prices for you and making the health care crisis worse.
Ever since this Congress began, instead of working to reduce prices and your cost of living, they’ve only passed policies that make your life more expensive, from your utility bills to your grocery receipts.
Democrats have been fighting these moves every step of the way. Last year, Republicans refused to extend the ACA enhanced premium tax credits to help lower health care costs for everyday people—all so they could push through their unaffordability agenda.
When I was home during the holidays, all I heard from you was that because ACA enhanced premium tax credits were expiring, your health care premiums were doubling and tripling, and that a lot of people were going to become uninsured.
Because Democrats pushed a discharge petition through the House, we forced Republicans to vote on our bill to extend ACA tax credits and prevent the health care crisis from getting worse.
On Thursday, the House voted in favor of extending these lifesaving tax credits. Now our bill moves to the Senate, where I hope Republicans understand the gravity of the situation and work with Democrats to send this bill extending ACA enhanced premium tax credits to the President’s desk. Americans can’t afford a health care affordability crisis—and it’s up to Republicans to help us prevent one.
You can read my full statement HERE.
Securing wins for New Jersey communities
I’m proud to announce I helped secure $1 million in funding for emergency communications in Carteret! These upgrades will give Carteret’s police officers and first responders better tools to communicate quickly and effectively in emergency situations.
This money will help officers in the field respond more quickly with upgraded communications equipment, like emergency call boxes, and improve the Borough’s ability to share information during emergencies.
In a community like Carteret, a few extra seconds can save lives. I’m proud to secure federal funding for projects in my district, so local municipalities can provide more services to their citizens while still upgrading critical infrastructure.
