New Jersey STD rates, New Jersey polls, and the Graham-Cassidy healthcare bill

What a Friday. Today’s Daily Brew fact-checks the claim that STD rates have risen in New Jersey. We also look at recently released New Jersey polling [View this email in your browser]( [Ballotpedia](   [Facebook](   [Twitter](   [The Daily Brew]( We fact-checked. Phil Murphy is a Democratic candidate for New Jersey governor. He has pledged to restore $7.5 million in annual state funding for family planning services that Gov. Chris Christie has repeatedly vetoed since 2010.   According to Politico, groups such as Planned Parenthood claim the cut has led to a rise in sexually transmitted disease (STD) rates. But Christie and State Health Commissioner Cathleen Bennett say there is no such correlation and that more women are now receiving care at federally qualified health centers rather than family planning clinics.   Did the cut to family planning grants lead to increases in New Jersey’s rates of STDs? [Find out in our fact check](   Newly-released New Jersey poll shows Murphy ahead, but by a slimmer margin A Fox News poll released Wednesday evening showed Murphy (D) leading Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno (R) in the New Jersey gubernatorial race by 13 points with less than two months to go before the November 7 general election. The poll of 804 registered New Jersey voters found 42 percent planned on voting for Murphy, while 29 percent planned to vote for Guadagno. Thirty percent of voters surveyed planned to support one of the five other candidates running or had not yet decided. The 13 percent margin between the two is nearly half that reported by a September 13 Quinnipiac University poll, which found Murphy ahead by 25 percent. The number of voters who were undecided or supporting a third party or independent candidate was more than triple the nine percent reported in the Quinnipiac poll. A Murphy win coupled with Democrats holding the legislature would give them trifecta control of the state for the first time since 2009. [Read more recent news in this race]( →   Senate intends to vote on Graham-Cassidy healthcare bill next week On July 13, 2017, Senators Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) released a proposal to modify the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare. The plan was also introduced as an amendment to the Better Care Reconciliation Act during the Republican effort to repeal the ACA in July 2017. The proposal is a reconciliation bill, which would only impact the budgetary and fiscal provisions of the ACA and does not contain a provision to repeal the law in its entirety. A spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said, "It is the Leader’s intention to consider Graham/Cassidy on the floor next week.”   Get up to speed fast. Here’s what you need to know about the latest healthcare bill: - The bill would repeal the ACA's premium tax credits and cost-sharing reductions provided to individuals to help purchase insurance. - It would effectively eliminate the individual mandate by reducing the penalty to $0. - Most of the ACA's taxes and fees would remain in place to fund a grant program for states to design their own systems for health insurance and healthcare. States could use this money to establish financial assistance for purchasing health insurance, require individuals to purchase insurance, or establish other policies to help cover high-risk individuals, stabilize premiums, and reduce out-of-pocket costs. - States could request waivers to allow insurers to vary premiums for older individuals or individuals with preexisting conditions. States would also request waivers from the requirement of insurers to cover a standard set of benefits (the essential health benefits). - Many of the ACA's insurance market rules would remain in effect. Insurers would still be prohibited from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions. Insurers would also still be required to allow dependents to remain on their parents' insurance coverage until age 26. - The bill would end the Medicaid expansion and convert Medicaid financing from an open-ended entitlement to a per-capita (i.e. per-member) amount. [Read more about the bill]( →   [#FridayFact] As of yesterday, 19 organizations have collectively spent $12.3 million on the Republican special primary election for U.S. Senate in Alabama. Which organization has spent the most? Click to guess the answer. [U.S. Chamber of Commerce]( [Senate Leadership Fund]( [Great America Alliance]( [National Republican Senatorial Committee](   Ballotpedia depends on the support of our readers. The Lucy Burns Institute, publisher of Ballotpedia, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. All donations are tax deductible to the extent of the law. Donations to the Lucy Burns Institute or Ballotpedia do not support any candidates or campaigns. [Donate Securely Online]( Decide which emails you want from Ballotpedia. [Unsubscribe]( or [adjust your preferences]( →   [Facebook](   [Twitter](