U.S. Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey on Monday challenged President Donald Trump to open the enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act to help Americans affected by the novel coronavirus pandemic.
“My question for the president is, if you are not going to open up health insurance enrollment during a health care crisis that has killed close to 10,000 Americans, including over 1,000 New Jerseyans, then what are you waiting for?” Booker, a Democrat, said during Gov. Phil Murphy’s news conference on Monday. “I have asked the president of the United States to make a decision, which he can do, to assure that all Americans who want health insurance can get it through the Affordable Care Act.”
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The senator said he was proud of the bipartisan CARES Act, but he said more needs to be done to mitigate the economic losses due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
“We are going to be fighting for future payments,” Booker said.
State officials reported 86 additional deaths from Sunday, bringing the number of coronavirus-related deaths to 1,003. Another 3,663 New Jersey residents tested positive for the virus. The number of diagnosed cases across the state is 41,090.
The growth rate of new cases declined from 24 percent day-over-day March 30 to just 12 percent Monday, Murphy said.
“If we keep up with our current practices, we can get through the peak with the hospital beds that we’re preparing,” Murphy said. ‘If we relax our social distancing, we will overwhelm the system to the point that all of our contingency plans, and then some, will need to go into effect.”
The state is still about a week and a half away from reaching the peak of coronavirus infections, the governor said.
“But this is no time to spike any footballs or to take our foot off the gas,” Murphy said. “This isn’t over, not by a long shot.”
Also announced by Murphy:
• President Donald Trump agreed to give New Jersey some of the beds on the USNS Comfort, which is docked in Manhattan. The ship, which has 1,000 beds, was sent to New York to provide additional resources for the state.
• The governor also issued an executive order that allows retired employees to return to work without affecting their pension. Murphy has been asked for retired workers not only in health care but in other roles to return to work to help in the crisis.
• The Federal Emergency Management Agency has agreed to support New Jersey’s drive-through testing sites through end of May.
