The Republican governor said he agreed with the “concept of block grants” but felt that Graham and Cassidy were “tying themselves into knots trying to help the states that didn’t expand.” | AP Photo Christie says he opposes Graham-Cassidy bill

SOMERSET — Gov. Chris Christie said on Wednesday that he opposes the latest Senate plan to repeal and replace Obamacare, deeming it “too injurious” to New Jersey.

“I oppose Graham-Cassidy because it is too injurious to the people of New Jersey,” Christie told reporters standing outside an addiction treatment center in Somerset County. “I’m certainly not going to support a bill that takes nearly $4 billion from people in the state.”


The plan is referred to as Graham-Cassidy after the two Republican senators — Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana — who sponsored the legislation. It would block grant Medicaid to states and it would have a disproportionate financial impact on states that chose to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.

New Jersey could lose around $3.9 billion in federal Medicaid funds by 2026, according to an estimate from the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities.

Christie, an early and ardent supporter of President Donald Trump, stressed that he remains “philosophically” opposed to Obamacare but “took advantage” of Medicaid expansion for the benefit of his state residents. Trump, who has been pushing for Obamacare repeal, tapped Christie to lead a national commission on opioid addiction earlier this year.

The Republican governor said he agreed with the “concept of block grants” but felt that Graham and Cassidy were “tying themselves into knots trying to help the states that didn’t expand.”

Christie took flak from conservatives when he became the eighth Republican governor to expand Medicaid, which increased federal funding for people earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level. More than a half-million New Jersey residents have gained health insurance coverage as a result.

“I don’t think it’s right to take this money away in this manner. I think there are ways to do the block granting that are much better,” he said. “But I know that this comes from a place where the folks who didn’t expand now want some of that money back. But they chose not to expand at the time.”