Smith and healthcare

The coronavirus has placed the inadequacy and inequalities of our healthcare system on full display. The same could be said of Chris Smith’s healthcare record.

In December, the House passed HR 3 which included provisions to lower prescription drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries, added dental, vision, and hearing services to Medicare, expanded funding to fight opioid addiction, and increased drug pricing transparency.

Chris Smith voted no. On June 29th, the House passed a bill to enhance the Affordable Care Act. This bill expands tax credits and eligibility for subsidies, funds ACA outreach and enrollment efforts, funds states like NJ that want to run their own exchanges, extends Medicaid or CHIP coverage to new mothers for one year post-partum, ensures that Medicaid or CHIP recipients receive coverage for an entire year once enrolled, and curtails the Trump administration’s efforts to weaken coverage for pre-existing conditions and essential benefits. Chris Smith voted no. This should come as no surprise, Smith was a reliable anti-ACA vote for years. He voted to repeal or weaken the law multiple times, and joined the GOP’s hysteria by saying it would wreck the economy, kill jobs, lead to government rationed care, and weaken Medicare. When Smith changed his mind in 2017, he was silent as his party came within one vote of removing healthcare from 23 million Americans.

Millions are losing employer provided healthcare or suffering the after-effects of coronavirus. Smith would leave them with nowhere to turn, and he has consistently failed to protect our healthcare.

— Greg DeLuca,

Robbinsville