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| For Immediate Release | Contact | Phone | |
| May 12, 2009 | Eve Weissman NJ Citizen Action |
732-246-4772 | eve@njcitizenaction.org |
| Ev Liebman NJ Citizen Action |
856-966-3091 | ev@njcitizenaction.org | |
Senator Vitale, Chair NJ Senate Health Committee Stands with Advocates to Oppose Cut Backs to NJ FamilyCare, Medicaid and the Aids Drug Distribution Program
Vitale Vows to Vote NO on State Budget unless Funding is restored to Critical Health Care Programs
Trenton, NJ — Today, Tuesday, May 12, 2009, New Jersey State Senator Joseph Vitale (D-Middlesex), Chair of the New Jersey Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee, stood with health care advocates from across the State including Ev Liebman, Director of Organizing and Advocacy for New Jersey Citizen Action, Reverend Bruce Davidson, Director of the New Jersey Lutheran Office of Governmental Ministries, Ray Castro, Senior Policy Analyst for New Jersey Policy Perspective, and Lowell Arye, Executive Director of Alliance for the Betterment of Citizens with Disabilities for a Press Conference at 11:00 a.m. in Room 109 of the Trenton Statehouse to oppose proposed cut backs in NJ's Family Care Program, Medicaid and the Aids Drug Distribution Program (ADDP), critical health care programs in New Jersey's Fiscal Year 2010 State Budget.
Senator Vitale and Health Care advocates representing over 2 million New Jersey residents and the NJ For Health Care Coalition and the Coalition for a Moral Budget called on New Jersey lawmakers to oppose proposals to cut back FamilyCare enrollment of parents between 150 and 200 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) and to require unaffordable co-payments for Medicaid recipients and people in the AIDS Drug Distribution Program (ADDP).
"New Jersey government is facing one of the biggest challenges in modern history in advancing a fair and balanced budget in the face of a multi-billion dollar deficit in revenues," said Vitale. "Our convictions are going to be tested, as we come to terms with the fact that we simply don't have enough money to fund all of the State's priorities at the level that we have in the past. However, certain funding requests are more than just line items in a budget. These are programs that mean the difference between life and death for those struggling to make ends meet in this difficult economy. Unless funding is restored for programs like NJ FamilyCare, Medicaid prescription drug benefits, and the AIDS Drug Distribution Program, I will be voting against the FY 2010 Budget. Some programs are too important, and some convictions are too strong, to be on the budget chopping block."
"The proposed FamilyCare cuts and Medicaid and ADDP co-pays will cost New Jersey taxpayers more than they will save and are the wrong choices for New Jersey," said Liebman. "These proposals, if enacted, will make quality, affordable health care less rather than more accessible to state residents."
"The proposed FamilyCare cutback not only affects vulnerable families, it will hurt the economy. Every $1 in state funds invested in FamilyCare will generate $4.2 in business activity. That amounts to a loss of about $40 million at a time ironically when the federal government is trying to give more federal funds to New Jersey to stimulate the economy," stated Castro of NJPP. "To add insult to injury, this cutback is being proposed at the same time the state is receiving a windfall of over $2 billion in additional federal Medicaid funding and about $100 million in additional federal funds for FamilyCare that were not anticipated. Virtually all those funds have gone to balance the state budget, but a small portion of them could have been used to prevent health cutbacks as Congress intended, which would have resulted in even more federal funds to New Jersey," he added.
"To reach its goal of covering all children, the State needs to maintain enrollment of parents up to 200 percent of the poverty level," added Sheldon Presser, Senior Policy Analyst at the Association for Children of New Jersey. "Any move to reduce participation of eligible parents would restrict the State's ability to fulfill the mandate of the 2008 law," continued Presser, referring to the recently enacted Chapter 38 (S-1557) requiring all New Jersey children have health insurance.
Lowell Arye, speaking about the proposed Medicaid and ADDP co-pays said, "Imposing co-payments on Medicaid beneficiaries and individuals with HIV/AIDS will harm the most vulnerable New Jerseyans and will not result in actual savings to the State. Co-payments make health care less affordable for individuals with limited incomes, forcing people to choose between needed health care services and other necessities such as rent, food, or heating. Medicaid and ADDP co-pays would result in individuals with significant disabilities and those living in poverty not seeking care, exacerbating their illnesses, and cost the State even more in hospitalizations and more Emergency Room visits."
Research consistently demonstrates that the participation of parents in NJ FamilyCare is critical to the success of enrolling children. "A growing body of research demonstrates that one highly effective way of boosting coverage among these low-income children is to broaden health insurance programs so that the programs also cover their parents. The research shows, for example, that states that have expanded Medicaid coverage for low-income parents have experienced significantly greater gains in enrollment among eligible children than states that did not expand parents' coverage," states an October 2006 report (see attached) from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
The NJ For Health Care Coalition delivered a letter to all Members of the New Jersey State Legislature on Wednesday, May 6, 2009 urging Members to oppose cutbacks to the FamilyCare, Medicaid, and ADDP programs (read the letters to the NJ Senate and the Assembly).
NJ For Health Care is a broad-based alliance of health care, consumer, senior, student, disability, women's, labor, faith-based, civil rights and social justice organizations working to bring guaranteed, high quality, affordable health care to all New Jersey residents.
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