Gov. Phil Murphy leveraged the discovery of his likely-cancerous tumor in a pitch for a ‘corporate responsibility fee’ that would charge businesses whose employees are on Medicaid.
“I am lucky because I have health insurance that provides me access to the very best possible care, to the best doctors, to regular check-ups and specialists,” he said during a speech at the NJ Chamber of Commerce’s annual congressional delegation dinner. “I am lucky to have a small piece of plastic in my wallet that provides me real peace of mind — a health care policy membership card that provides benefits which are actually worth more than the card my name is printed on.”
Murphy on Saturday announced that doctors found a roughly three-centimeter-wide tumor on his left kidney.
He’s expected to undergo surgery to remove the tumor in early March.
In the meantime, Murphy has re-pitched fees for corporations that do not provide healthcare to their employees, a policy that legislative leaders turned down last year.
“This is also why I proposed, again, making those large employers whose health-care policies push their employees, and their employees’ families, onto Medicaid to pay a Corporate Responsibility Fee,” Murphy said. “We as a state, cannot just sit back and let our taxpayers continually pick up the tab.”
Senate President Steve Sweeney has indicated he’ll again resist the proposal.
He said he did not believe the state needed any additional revenue raisers aside from a millionaires’ tax, which he has offered to support in exchange for $1 billion in additional pension contributions.
Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin has said he regards any revenue raisers skeptically.
The governor’s speech also touched on Trenton’s misogynistic culture.
“This event is now 83 years old. And, this is its watershed year. And, this is the year for reinvention,” he said. “Let’s be clear. Boorish behavior isn’t brought on by alcohol. Sexual misconduct isn’t something to be dismissed as the result of someone having had one drink too many – whether on the train or at the bar here at the hotel.”
The Chamber’s annual Walk to Washington was named as a hot bed of sexual harassment and misogyny in a Star Ledger report released late last year.
As part of its response, the Chamber banned hard alcohol on its chartered train down to D.C., created a harassment hotline, drafted a code of conduct and increased security on the way down to the D.C. dinner.
The governor also touted separate parts of his agenda, including an increase to school funding aid provided by the state and growth in the number of high-propensity business applications.