New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Wednesday he opposed the current Republican healthcare bill, saying it will harm his state.
"I oppose Graham-Cassidy because it is too injurious to the people of New Jersey," Christie told reporters, according to Politico. "I'm certainly not going to support a bill that takes nearly $4 billion from people in the state."
The GOP governor is a supporter of President Donald Trump, but parts ways on Graham-Cassidy, named after the bill's two GOP sponsors, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana.
The bill, intended as a replacement for the Affordable Care Act passed by Democrats and signed by President Barack Obama in 2012, would block grant Medicaid to the states. That has been criticized as hurting states, such as New Jersey, which opted to expand Medicaid under Obamacare, as the ACA is popularly known.
Most Republican-led states chose not to expand Medicaid after the Supreme Court ruled part of the ACA unconstitutional. Christie said he opposes Obamacare, but "took advantage" of the Medicaid expansion it offered to help New Jersey residents.
The state might lose $3.9 billion in Medicaid funds under Graham-Cassidy, while states that did not expand Medicaid would benefit.
Christie said he agrees with the "concept of block grants" but thinks Graham and Cassidy are "tying themselves into knots trying to help the states that didn't expand."
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