The Urban Institute concluded that the Sanders single-payer healthcare plan will cost taxpayers as much as $32 trillion over 10 years.

“After he has repeatedly embraced single-payer healthcare on the campaign trail, Phil Murphy owes it to the people of New Jersey to clarify if he supports the Bernie Sanders plan,” said Guadagno Campaign Spokesman Ricky Diaz. “If elected, he has already promised to raise taxes by at least $1.3 billion, create a state-run bank and declare New Jersey a sanctuary state. Will he also join the Washington, D.C. bandwagon and champion a government-run healthcare scheme that would decimate New Jersey families and businesses by forcing massive tax increases?”

Phil Murphy has already expressed support for single-payer healthcare in New Jersey, telling reporters “it has to be on the table” if it is not passed at the federal level.

Murphy also embraced the idea in an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer Editorial Board: “‘By the way, people say, ‘Would you consider single-payer health care?” [Murphy] told the Inquirer editorial board last week, unprompted. He raised his hand and said: ‘Yes! We just figure out: Where are we going to get that?'”

Government-run single-payer healthcare has failed in other states – including Bernie Sanders’ Vermont – because of extreme costs and pushback from taxpayers who will see their taxes go up to pay for it:

• “California’s single-payer plan costs $400 billion — twice the state’s entire budget” (Vox.com, 5/22/2017)
• “A new outside analysis claims a “single payer” health system for California would cost $330 billion a year” (KQED News, 6/1/2017)
• “Costs derail Vermont’s dream of a single-payer health plan” (Boston Globe, 1/25/2015)
• “To implement single-payer, the analysis showed, it would cost $4.3 billion in 2017” in Vermont (Boston Globe, 1/25/2015)