Federal Medicaid Cuts Threaten 1.8 Million NJ Residents

Assemblywomen Luanne Peterpaul & Margie Donlon

By Dr. Margie Donlon, M.D. and Luanne Peterpaul, Esq.

The numbers are frightening.

If Congress implements the Trump Administration’s proposed cuts it would devastate New Jersey’s Medicaid program, known as NJ FamilyCare, and potentially impact the 1.8 million residents who rely on Medicaid.

During the Assembly Health Committee meeting last week, dozens of witnesses, including doctors, hospital and nursing home administrators, disability advocates, and business leaders, painted a sweeping and grim picture. They testified that patients no longer covered for doctor visits would overwhelm already stressed hospital emergency rooms seeking basic care or have to do without it. Adults with disabilities and veterans will face being institutionalized because there is no funding for in-home care. People with substance abuse disorders will relapse and be forced to live on the street because the funds for counseling and rehab would be gone.

At a time when many residents are struggling to keep up with high costs for food and other day-to-day living expenses, the impact of the federal cuts would run deeply into our daily life and the state economy. NJ FamilyCare has a $24 billion budget in the current fiscal year. The federal government provides $14 billion with the state appropriating another $10 billion.

The impact will go well beyond the 1.8 million residents who rely directly on NJ FamilyCare.

The New Jersey Business and Industry Association testified at the hearing last week that the healthcare and social services sector is a vital contributor to New Jersey’s economy. The sector is one of the state’s five largest industries and it has grown by 35 percent since 2020. It accounts for 8.6 percent of New Jersey’s gross domestic product.

We are fighting vigorously to move our bills through the Assembly Health Committee, of which Assemblywoman Donlon is a member, and the Assembly Aging and Human Services Committee, on which Assemblywoman Peterpaul serves. Our legislation to require insurance companies to cover Biomarker Testing, an innovative way to match cancer patients with the most effective treatments, is now the law. Our bill to allow pharmacists to transfer attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder prescriptions to other pharmacies, so ADHD patients can get their medications when they need them, despite shortages, also has been signed into law this year.

Our bills to extend the time period in which to enroll a newborn infant in health benefits coverage; to prohibit health insurance carriers from using human body weight as a factor in determining coverage for eating disorders, and to expand the state’s child care assistance program to full-time graduate and post-graduate students, have all passed the Assembly. In addition, we support Senator Vin Gopal’s legislation to enter NJ in a Social Work Licensure Compact with other states to address the social worker shortage. The bill recently passed both the Assembly and the Senate.

The Assembly Aging and Human Services Committee is considering a range of bills that also address affordability for seniors, including the cost and eligibility of healthcare and prescription drugs as well as legislation that would expand their eligibility for utility assistance through the state.

During the Assembly Health Committee hearing last week, advocates for people with disabilities and many healthcare professionals pointed out that Medicaid goes beyond doctor visits and pharmacy prescriptions. It funds programs that are designed to help people with disabilities have meaningful, fulfilling lives.

President Trump’s proposed cut to Medicaid will isolate many residents in New Jersey, socially, medically, and economically. The cuts will cost jobs. They will cause facilities to close and reduce the healthcare provider footprint in communities.

As Kevin Nunez, a New Jersey disabilities advocate who has cerebral palsy, told the committee, “Without Medicaid, I simply have no life. Without Medicaid, I couldn’t get out of bed.”

We are committed to making sure that no one should have to live with that kind of fear.