Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-11), chairman of the powerful House Appropriations committee, is caught between the proverbial rock and hard place, under pressure from the extreme right wing of his party for opposing the first version of Trump/Ryancare, and under pressure from his non-extreme-right-wing constituents for everything else he has done in the past several years, as well as refusing to meet with them face to face in Town Hall-style meetings.

The Republicans in power are insisting that their epic failure to destroy the Affordable Care Act (which they’d been promising to do the instant they got in charge) and replace it with the tax-cuts-for-the-rich bill Donald Trump apparently thought was “really terrific” on Democrats. They just wouldn’t support it (well, they got that part right.)

More than five thousand adult Sussex County residents stand to lose health care coverage if the Trump administration and a Republican-controlled Congress carry through with their threat to dismantle the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid Expansion provision.

In a recent New York Times article titled “Sorry, We Don’t Take Obamacare”, Elisabeth Rosenthal highlighted some of the growing pains of the new system.  In particular, insurance companies are learning to craft plans with narrow networks that restrict access a patient’s to physicians. However, there are other reasons why those who are covered though the ACA cannot see the doctor of their choice. Unfortunately, the reasons have less to do with the complexities of health insurance coverage, and more to do with ideology and spite.

Warren County Democratic Committee Chair Tom Palmieri calls our attention to Congressman Scott Garrett's request for information: