“Governor Christie has jumped the shark with his scheme to raid Horizon’s capital reserves, intervening with the state’s only non-profit healthcare service corporation,” said Brent Gardner, Chief Government Affairs Officer in the national headquarters office of Americans for Prosperity. “Not only is this an outrageous government overreach, but it puts New Jersey’s most vulnerable at risk for higher premiums, exacerbating the ever-worsening problems caused by Obamacare. AFP is calling on the State Legislature to reject Governor Christie’s personal political agenda today and stand up for what is right.”

“This is a government raid of $300 million targeting one company to fund a government program to advance Governor Christie’s personal political agenda,” said AFP-NJ Director Erica Jedynak. “This proposal grants too much power to individuals within government and sets a poor precedent that could lead to future abuse. Even worse, this bill could raise premiums on families already struggling to pay the higher healthcare costs under Obamacare.”

S-4 gives the State Insurance Commissioner the power to determine how much money non-profit health providers could keep in reserve. This power could then be invoked to take these “excess funds” to spend how the state sees fit.