Sen. Menendez Issues Statement on Senate GOP Healthcare Bill

WASHINGTON, June 22 -- The office of Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., issued the following statement in reaction to the release of the Republican Senate's healthcare bill:

"It is disgraceful to ask the American people to choose between a Republican House health care bill that's 'mean' and a Senate bill that's downright nasty. But it doesn't matter which bill is better or worse, because the American people still lose.

"We have just one week to stop a Republican plan that strips coverage from millions of Americans, hikes premiums for middle-class and working people, guts the guarantee of essential benefits, disproportionately hurts women and the disabled, and forces the most vulnerable to pay for a massive tax cut for the richest among us.

"Thousands of middle-class New Jerseyans who buy insurance on the private marketplace won't get any help with their premiums. And families with insurance will have to pay higher deductibles and out-of-pocket costs for what, at the end of the day, is less comprehensive coverage.

"This cruel and heartless legislation leaves millions of Americans who rely on the Medicaid expansion - including over half-a-million New Jerseyans - with no options at all. And the damage doesn't stop there, as the Medicaid program that pays for two-out-of-three seniors' home care and helps Americans with disabilities live their lives with dignity is cut by hundreds of billions of dollars.

"The Republican plan has nothing to do with making health care affordable for more Americans. It's nothing more than an enormous tax giveaway to the nation's richest Americans paid for by taking healthcare away from those who need it most."