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Media Release |
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| For Immediate Release | Contact | Phone |
| Monday, March 29, 2010 | Adam Sherman | 732-246 4772 |
New Report: New Jersey To Get Big Financial Boost From Federal Health Care Reform
Legislation would give New Jersey $30.3 Billion in new federal funding for health coverage with minimal match
*** Read the Report: HealthCareforAmericaNow.org/StateBoost (click here)***
Highland Park, NJ — A new report released today by Health Care for America Now (HCAN) — the nation's largest health care campaign — shows that federal health care reform gives residents and governments in all 50 states and DC hundreds of billions of dollars in much-needed funds.
A total of $900.8 billion in new federal funds will flow to the states from 2010 through 2019, with $473 billion allocated to help families afford private health insurance coverage and $427 billion to supplement state Medicaid programs, according to a state-by-state analysis of the just-passed legislation. The second of two health reform bills just passed (H.R. 4872, The Reconciliation Act of 2010) will provide an additional $51.5 billion in federal support for health insurance coverage beyond that provided in the Senate health care bill (H.R. 3590) alone.
New Jersey will receive a $28 billion increase in federal funding for Medicaid and private health insurance subsidies between 2014 and 2019. That's $13.5 billion for Medicaid and $12.5 billion for subsidies.
In return for this new injection of money, on average, states will be required to provide a modest match estimated to equal only 2.2 percent of the new federal funds. In comparison, nationally, states customarily match federal Medicaid dollars at an average rate of about 43 percent. With reform legislation, for low- and moderate-income residents receiving assistance for private health insurance coverage, no state match is required. For residents gaining health insurance coverage under the expanded Medicaid eligibility, the federal contribution for these costs will be 100 percent in the initial years (2014, 2015, and 2016) and will be set at 90 percent for 2019 and beyond.
How much each state receives will depend on the number of people eligible for Medicaid and the number of people who qualify for private health insurance subsidies. For instance, from 2010 to 2019, health reform will direct $90.1 billion to Texas, the state with the highest uninsured rate, and $1.7 billion to Wyoming, the least populous state.
The revised report titled "Federal Health Reform Provides Critical Long-Term Help to States, Reconciliation Update" also takes a look at the $87.7 billion currently flowing to the states through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and the additional relief provided by the House- and Senate-passed jobs bills now pending final action by Congress.
In New Jersey, the stimulus bill will provide a total of $1.4 billion this year to relieve state Medicaid costs. The additional pending jobs bill, if finalized by Congress, will provide an additional $613 million that will flow to New Jersey in 2011. Together, the two pieces of legislation will save our state government a total of 2.9billion from 2009 through 2011.
These two short-term sources of federal funding — together with health care reform — would inject a total of $1.05 trillion in federal assistance into state economies over 10 years and result in a net reduction in state Medicaid spending of $91.2 billion over the 2009 to 2019 period. As shown in the attached report, New Jersey would receive a total $30.3 billion in federal funds over this period.
"We are paving a path for economic recovery here in New Jersey, and enactment of comprehensive health care reform is an integral part of helping us relieve the tremendous and growing pressures from the uninsured," said Adam Sherman, Central Jersey Organizer from New Jersey Citizen Action. "With reform, New Jersey will see a dramatic reduction in the number of uninsured over time, and immediately with the passage of the jobs bills, we will receive new funds that will help relieve the budgetary burdens we're struggling with today. This report proves the stimulus bill, the jobs bill, and comprehensive health care reform are the right prescription for relieving growing state budget pressures — including New Jersey's — over the next decade."
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NJ Citizen Action is the State's largest citizen watchdog coalition, representing over 60,000 family members and over 100 affiliated organizations across the State. NJCA works to protect and expand the rights of individuals and families and to ensure that government officials respond to the needs of people rather than the interests of those with money and power.
Health Care for America Now is a grassroots national initiative that came together in the summer of 2008 with the goal of passing strong national health care reform through Congress.
