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Press Release |
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| For Immediate Release | Contact | Phone | |
| Monday, March 8, 2010 | Eve Weissman |
732-246-4772 | eve@njcitizenaction.org |
| Ev Liebman |
856-966-3091 | ev@njcitizenaction.org | |
NJ Senators Weinberg and Vitale Join Health Care Advocates Calling on Governor to STOP Cuts to NJ FamilyCare and Charity Care
Cuts Will Deny Tens of Thousands of Parents and Kids Health Coverage, Dump Residents from the Insurance Rolls, Stress Already Struggling Local Hospitals and Cost the State Millions of Dollars in Federal Matching Funds
Highland Park, NJ — Today, March 8, 2010 members of the NJ For Health Care Coalition were joined by State Senator Loretta Weinberg (D-37), Chair of the NJ Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee and State Senator Joseph Vitale (D-19), Vice Chair of the NJ Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee at a Statehouse Press Conference to call on NJ Governor Chris Christie to stop cuts to NJ's FamilyCare and Charity Care programs which he is enacting through Executive Order.
"At a time when New Jerseyans are struggling to make ends meet, drastic cuts to our most valuable health care safety net programs simply do not make sense," said Senator Vitale. "Not only will these cuts put uninsured New Jerseyans at risk, but they also stand to deny our State millions of dollars in federal matching funds. We cannot balance the budget on the backs of the uninsured, and I urge Governor Christie to explore alternatives to the deep cuts he's put forward in programs that literally mean the difference between life and death for New Jersey residents in greatest need."
The cuts freeze FamilyCare enrollment for adults between 133% and 200% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) as of March 1, 2010 and dump current and freeze future enrollees who are legal immigrants who have lived in the country less than five years from the FamilyCare program starting April 1, 2010.
"The cuts in Charity Care are particularly disturbing," said Senator Weinberg, "especially when you consider the rash of hospital closings around the State in recent years. Charity Care funding is matched dollar for dollar by the Federal government; it's irresponsible to leave this money on the table while New Jersey is suffering. Governor Christie even cut the $3 million that would be left after all the payments were made, not even allowing hospitals to literally scrape the bottom of the barrel. Governor Christie's cuts to FamilyCare will increase the number of uninsured and force them into hospital emergency rooms, where the cuts in Charity Care will leave hospitals in even worse financial shape," continued Senator Weinberg. "This is penny wise and pound foolish."
According to new research by Ray Castro, Senior Policy Analyst at NJ Policy Perspective, the cuts would result in 20,479 adults either losing or being denied coverage by July 1, 2010 and 69,198 adults losing or being denied coverage through next year if the cuts are continued.
"These poorly thought-out cuts will do nothing but add more people to the Charity Care rolls and cut much needed federal support for our hospitals. The combined effect of these cuts will place additional pressure on our already distressed hospital system," said Assemblyman Coutinho.
"Cuts to NJ FamilyCare will have a direct and negative impact on tens of thousands of New Jerseyans who rely on the FamilyCare program for affordable health coverage," said Eve Weisman, Health Care Campaign Coordinator for NJ Citizen Action. "Given the economic recession, high unemployment, and ever increasing numbers of New Jersey residents losing health coverage, this is the wrong time to cut programs that serve hard working families and our State's most vulnerable residents," she added.
Advocates distributed a new analysis (attached), prepared by Ray Castor, Senior Policy Analyst for NJ Policy Perspective outlining how many NJ parents will either lose or be denied coverage under the Governor's cuts across the State and in each county.
"The number of parents who would be affected by these cutbacks in NJ FamilyCare is much higher than has been previously reported," said Castro. "In addition to 11,700 legal immigrant parents who would be terminated from the program, many other low-income parents who are United States citizens will be denied health coverage if their annual family income exceeds $24,000/year for a family of three. Given that the federal government has awarded NJ over $2 billion in additional Medicaid funds to help avoid cutbacks - and another one half billion is expected to be approved soon for NJ by Congress - denying help to struggling parents in the middle of a recession is both unnecessary and unconscionable," concluded Castro.
"This is not a policy, it's a discriminatory punishment based on status," said Shai Goldstein Executive Director of the NJ Immigration Policy Network. "It won't save taxpayers a dime but will force 12,000 of our friends and neighbors, who work hard, pay taxes and play by the rules out of the Dr. Office and into the emergency room. It simply defies logic."
NJ FamilyCare provides quality, affordable health insurance for income eligible children and parents. NJ FamilyCare currently provides coverage for over 580,000 children and over 200,000 adults. "The proposed cuts to NJ Charity Care and FamilyCare will seriously and sadly affect people with disabilities who are on fixed incomes and do not have Medicaid and/or Medicare to cover the health care they need to survive. In addition, the proposed cuts will further limit choices, even in hospitals and clinics," said Anita Clavering, Facilitator of the Mighty Middlesex Advocates.
"We do not understand how anyone who professes to care about the health and safety of people, particularly in tough economic times, would cut this health insurance program - it is simply mean and short-sighted to cut people off from access to affordable health coverage in the middle of a recession," said Weissman.
New Jersey Citizen Action is the State's largest, independent citizen watchdog organization, representing more than 100 labor, tenant, religious, community, women's, environmental, civil rights and senior organizations and 60,000 family members who live throughout New Jersey. For our entire organizational history we have worked to improve the quality of life for NJ's working families and seniors including fighting for guaranteed access to high quality and affordable health care for every resident. NJ For Health Care is made up of a broad-based alliance of over 70 health care, consumer, senior, student, disability, women's, labor, faith-based, civil rights and social justice organizations representing more than 2 million New Jerseyans working to bring guaranteed, high quality, affordable health care to all NJ residents.
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NJ Citizen Action is the State's largest, independent citizen watchdog organization, representing more than 100 labor, tenant, religious, community, women's, environmental, civil rights and senior organizations and 60,000 family members who live throughout New Jersey. For our entire organizational history we have worked to improve the quality of life for NJ's working families and seniors including fighting for guaranteed access to high quality and affordable health care for every resident.
NJ For Health Care is made up of a broad-based alliance of over 70 health care, consumer, senior, student, disability, women's, labor, faith-based, civil rights and social justice organizations representing more than 2 million New Jerseyans working to bring guaranteed, high quality, affordable health care to all NJ residents.
