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Press Statement |
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| For Immediate Release | Contact | Phone | |
| Wednesday, February 17, 2010 | Eve Weissman NJ Citizen Action |
732-246-4772 | eve@njcitizenaction.org |
| Ev Liebman NJ Citizen Action |
856-966-3091 | ev@njcitizenaction.org | |
Coalition Calls on Legislature to Stop Cuts to NJ FamilyCare and Charity Care
Statement of Ev Liebman, Director of Organizing and Advocacy for NJ Citizen Action
"NJ For Health Care, a broad-based consumer health care coalition representing over 60 organizations and over 2 million residents across the State opposes cuts to critical health care programs that serve New Jersey working families and our State's most vulnerable residents. On February 11, 2010 Governor Christie signed Executive Order 14, cutting funds for a number of critical State programs including NJ FamilyCare and Charity Care. Now is not the time to cut funding for programs that provide affordable health coverage for families and children.
"NJ FamilyCare provides affordable, quality health insurance for income eligible children and parents. Since its inception it has served as a model program for the nation and currently provides coverage for over 580,000 children and over 200,000 adults. 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.
"We do not believe these cuts help real people trying to make ends-meet. Governor Christie's proposal to cap parent enrollment, and effectively change the law to disqualify legal immigrant adults from enrolling in NJ FamilyCare is bad health policy and bad fiscal policy. On the health side it's simple: hard-working people and their children die from lack of health insurance. On the fiscal side it isn't much more complicated. NJ FamilyCare is part of the federal State Children's Health Insurance Program which is funded through a 65% federal funding match. Because of this high matching rate, every one dollar cut in state funds in FamilyCare results in a loss of $4.2 in business activity. Therefore, cutting this program costs NJ more than it saves.
"We know, through painful past experience that closing the FamilyCare door on parents hurts kids. In 2002 when enrollment of parents was also closed under a previous administration, this caused 45,000 fewer children to be enrolled in FamilyCare over a four-year period with an attendant loss of $1.2 billion in federal funds. Over this same period Charity Care costs increased by $750 million.
"Governor Christie also plans to slash Charity Care dollars effectively completing a one two punch for the uninsured. Not only will fewer children and their parents get access to affordable health insurance, (at a time when we need it most), cutting Charity Care will result in less services for the uninsured, more hospitals closing their doors and increases on top of the already skyrocketing costs to those of us who are fortunate enough to have health insurance and subsidize care for those who don't.
"Like cutting FamilyCare, cutting Charity Care is penny wise but pound foolish. Charity Care also receives federal matching funds. Governor Christie's 4.2% cut in Charity Care is really an 8.4% reduction in real dollars for the program.
"No one is more acutely aware of our troubled economic times then the folks we represent - hard working men and women who go to work every day, who are raising families, putting food on the table, struggling to keep a roof over their heads, saving to send kids to college, taking care of parents, putting gas in the car and trying to maintain heat in their homes. For those hard working low and moderate income men and women, the struggle to maintain a decent quality of life in the face of this great recession is even more difficult.
"We call on the Governor and State Legislature to stop cuts to NJ FamilyCare and Charity Care."
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NJ For Health Care is a broad-based alliance made up of over 60 health care, consumer, senior, student, disability, women's, labor, faith-based, civil rights and social justice organizations representing over 2 million New Jersey residents working to bring guaranteed, high quality, affordable health care to all.
NJ Citizen Action is the State's largest, independent citizen watchdog organization representing over 60,000 families and over 100 organizations across the State. NJ Citizen Action works to improve the lives of all New Jersey residents through organizing campaigns that promote economic, racial, social, and political justice. For its entire organization history NJ Citizen Action has worked to ensure that all New Jerseyans have access to high quality and affordable health care.
