Phil Murphy: Even Farther Left Than National Democrats On Healthcare

July 28, 2017

Gubernatorial Candidate Phil Murphy has advocated for single-payer healthcare in New Jersey. In fact, he recently doubled down on single-payer after a speech to healthcare executives, telling reporters, “it has to be on the list.”

But it appears that support puts Phil Murphy far to the left of even the most liberal members of his own party. Yesterday, a proposal to impose single-payer healthcare in the country unanimously failed in the U.S. Senate, with many national Democrats even refusing to cast a vote. Even Bernie Sanders refused to vote for single-payer healthcare.

This isn’t surprising. Single-payer healthcare plans proposed in other states have failed spectacularly because of sky-high costs and the slew of tax increases on families and businesses it would require. In California, single-payer would have cost $400 billion and in Vermont, the former Democrat governor scraped their plans for single-payer because of the tax increases it would require. Estimates for a national single-payer scheme exceed $3 trillion.

Single-payer would further limit patient choice, raise costs, and force massive tax hikes on families and businesses. Yet, even though single-payer could cost New Jersey billions and force massive tax hikes, Phil Murphy continues to campaign on it.

After making millions of dollars working at Goldman Sachs, Phil Murphy is wildly out of touch with New Jersey voters who say lowering New Jersey’s high taxes is the number one issue in the 2017 election.

Townhall reports:

“The Daines amendment received a vote this afternoon, and it was unanimously defeated, 57-0.  A number of in-cycle, vulnerable Democrats voted against the awful bill, with dozens of Democrats (including several with obvious presidential ambitions) pulling an Obama maneuver by voting “present.” 

Liberal members didn’t want to play along with a GOP ‘stunt,’ but they didn’t want to go on the record against single-payer either.  Less left-wing members wanted no part of single-payer-based attacks back home, so they gave House Democrats’ plan a public thumbs-down…”