“We feel sorry for Governor Christie that, in the twilight of his failed tenure, the Governor is resorting again to bullying and distortions to retaliate against Horizon’s 3.8 million policyholders for opposing his $300 million reserve raid that has been called a ‘shakedown’ and ‘extortion’. Not once in the previous seven years has the Governor raised any issue in response to the many audits, annual reviews or thousands of pages of detailed financial filings that have been publicly filed including those detailing compensation information and lobbying expenses. Governor Christie’s own Lieutenant Governor called this desperate budget ploy ‘disgusting,’ Phil Murphy again called it a ‘phony crisis’ while countless business, labor, and consumer groups have denounced the Governor’s scheme. Horizon, a taxpaying not-for-profit institution in New Jersey for 85 years, has consistently earned an A rating from Standard and Poors, been ranked as New Jersey’s top health insurance company and is proud of our 5000 employees and their families who enable us to provide peace of mind for our policyholders. As Washington races to enact substantial changes to health care, Trenton shouldn’t be adding to the uncertainty and making health care more expensive and less accessible.”