Murphy Democrats Give Millennials Another Reason to Leave New Jersey

By: Alex Cucciniello 
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As if millennials and other young people needed more reasons to flee New Jersey, Governor Phil Murphy is about to give them another one.

He is ready to sign legislation recreating the Obamacare health insurance penalty that President Trump and the Republican Congress gratefully freed us from.

The legislation is backed by the Democratic majority in the legislature, so New Jerseyans will once again be required to have health insurance or pay a hefty penalty. This new onerous dip into our pockets by our government comes after President Trump gave us a reprieve from the Obama mandate to buy overpriced insurance or be fined for failing to do so.

The penalty for not having insurance will be either 2.5 percent of household income or $695 per adult and $347.50 per child. As a 21 year old? I have better things to do with $695 then having to give it to our government for them to waste.

Yes, reinstating the healthcare tax is especially harmful to young people, many of whom are barely getting by and most of whom hope to stop living home but can’t afford to buy.  Millennials saddled with college loan repayments, car insurance costs and struggling to get a decent job  – and saving to someday  buy a home  – don’t need to be used as pawns to prop up a terrible health care system. We do not want to be forced to pay for something we don’t want and most likely will never use.

The government is trying to set the precedent that “we must rely on them,” and they are “here to help.” 

They’re not. And to make matters worse, New Jersey will not relent on forcing us to buy a “benefits rich program” which provides coverage for things we don’t need such as mammograms for young men.   

It is obvious that Governor Murphy and his party view young people as just cash cows that must be milked to prop up the discredited Obamacare version of socialized medicine that frankly is not working well for here or in other countries. According to a  poll released in January by the Eagleton Center for the Public Interest, people who bought their medical coverage through the Obamacare health exchange were the most likely to say cost drove their decision — not because they liked the network of doctors (most don’t).

Nevertheless, Governor Murphy is plowing ahead with a plan to prop up a health care system that has come to symbolize government arrogance. In 2016, there were five insurers offering plans in the New Jersey insurance exchange. For 2017, that fell to two. Even the insurance companies don’t like this plan even though it could monetarily benefit them. This year the nearly unheard of Oscar Health Insurance rejoined the exchange for 2018.

To those reading this. I challenge you to find a doctor or hospital that will accept Oscar and report back!

Obviously, before supporting reinstatement of the health care tax, neither Murphy nor the legislative bothered to read the recently released poll by the state’s CPA society that found that Millennial’s are clearly unhappy with New Jersey. Respondents cited the lack of good paying jobs and the cost of housing as two reasons why they dislike the state.

I can provide a dozen more reason not to like New Jersey and now Governor Murphy has given us another one.

Is it truly any wonder as to why millennials are leaving the state in droves? Much more mysterious is why Governor Murphy and his Democrats don’t seem to know… or care.

Alex Cucciniello
About Alex Cucciniello 5 Articles
ALEX CUCCINIELLO of Bergen County serves as Executive Director of the New Jersey Organization for Economic Growth.