Dear Representative Frelinghuysen:

On March 24, 2017, you had the wisdom and courage to withhold your support from the American Health Care Act on grounds that the bill "would place significant new costs and barriers to care on my constituents in New Jersey. In addition to the loss of Medicaid coverage for so many people in my Medicaid-dependent state, the denial of essential health benefits in the individual market raise serious coverage and cost issues."

Amendments recently added to the bill do not satisfactorily address your core stated concerns. The amended AHCA would enable states to opt out of essential protections for people with pre-existing conditions, who number 320,000  in NJ-11 and 3.8 million in New Jersey, according to the Center for American Progress.

The amended AHCA, like the original, will repeal enhanced federal funding for the ACA Medicaid expansion, ultimately ending access to Medicaid for some 562,000 New Jerseyans, according to an analysis by New Jersey Policy Perspective. The bill will also impose per capita caps on Medicaid that will reduce funding to New Jersey by 20%, making federal funding inadequate to serve the needs of 1.8 million New Jerseyans who rely on Medicaid, including children, the elderly and people with disabilities.

We urge you to continue steadfast in rejection of a bill forecast to increase the ranks of the uninsured by 24,000 in NJ-11, 500,000 in New Jersey and over 20 million nationwide.