Americans for Prosperity Slams Christie Appointment of Obamacare Supporter to Head Department of Health & Senior Services

BOGOTA, NJ – Americans for Prosperity has condemned the Governor Christie appointment of a stealth Obamacare supporter to be the Commissioner of the Department of Health & Senior Services.

For the past month, the state’s leading grassroots taxpayer organization has requested Dr. Poonam Alaigh and other key nominees respond to a survey on critical health care issues but has been repeatedly ignored.

Now, AFP is blasting Alaigh’s appointment to head the state’s foremost health bureaucracy where she will have considerable authority to create health care policy.

“Poonam Alaigh apparently shares the views of Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and Barack Obama,” fired state director Steve Lonegan. “She is a believer in a single payer system and the individual mandate that would force Americans to purchase health insurance against their will.”

“In 2006, as a member of the Health and Senior Issues Transition Policy Group Poonam Alaigh also supported the expansion of Medicaid and the state’s FamilyCare (S-CHIP) program to 350 percent of the poverty level,” added Lonegan. “This is a person who supports all the same radical provisions of Obamacare and will no doubt push these kinds of radical policies as commissioner of Health & Senior Services.”

“On top of that Poonam Alaigh supports and donates money to liberals like Frank Pallone, one of New Jersey’s most adamant supporters of a government takeover of health care.”

Lonegan pointed to campaign finance reports showing Alaigh contributed significant sums to the Congressman Pallone’s 2006 senate run.

“We are gravely concerned that Governor Christie has appointed supporters of socialized medicine to the state’s three most important health bureaucracies where they will have the ability to turn New Jersey into a laboratory for their schemes to achieve a government-run system,” Lonegan said, referring to the governor’s tapping of Janet Rosenzweig to the department of Children & Families, and Corzine holdover Jennifer Velez to remain at Human Services.

“With Obamacare on the verge of defeat, we expect that the states will become the next front in the battle against government-run health care.”

“These are not the kinds of people that Christie supporters thought they were getting when they voted for him in November,” added Lonegan. “These are apparent Obamacare supporters who have continually refused to be open and transparent with the people of New Jersey about their views.”

Dr. Alaigh’s appointment is scheduled for a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday morning.