Senate Republican Leader Anthony M. Bucco has criticized the recent endorsement by AON, New Jersey’s state actuary, of Governor Phil Murphy’s plan to raise health insurance premiums for state workers.
“Republicans warned about the death spiral for years—now state workers are being handed the bill,” Bucco said in a statement.
Bucco expressed frustration that previous warnings from Senate Republicans about rising costs were not heeded. “Senate Republicans have been warning about this looming crisis for years and unfortunately those warnings were ignored,” said Sen. Bucco. “Then just weeks ago, we called for the Legislature to reconvene and form a bipartisan, bicameral committee to understand the root cause and develop real solutions. That call was ignored too. Now, instead of innovation, leadership, or reform to address the problem, the Murphy administration’s hand-picked actuary is moving forward with forcing state workers to shoulder the burden for the Democrats’ failures.”
Earlier in August, Bucco called on lawmakers to return for a session aimed at passing SCR-61. The resolution would create a bipartisan committee to investigate public employee health care program costs in New Jersey. The committee would focus on a proposed 37% increase in State Health Benefits Program premiums, which could impact municipal and school budgets and potentially lead to higher property taxes.
“It’s honestly just shameful. Over the last two years, Democrats in Trenton have spent over $1 billion on last-minute pork projects, yet when it comes time to support our dedicated public servants, there’s suddenly no money and no will to act. This is not fiscal responsibility, it’s fiscal malfeasance and our public workers deserve better,” Bucco concluded.
