NJ hospitals to get $540M to care for poor
But they say state aid won't offset federal cuts
By: Scott Fallon
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey
..... New Jersey hospitals will receive $540 million in 2026 to help offset costs for free care to uninsured patients and those on Medicaid, state officials announced on December 16. [2025]
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After that, the bloodletting begins.
..... The New Jersey Hospital Association warned that the $540 million will not compensate for looming federal cuts under President Donald Trump's "One big beautiful Bill" that are anticipated to hit the state's 70 hospitals hard over the next several years.
..... "While these funds are an important step in offset the broader and significant federal funding impacts," said Cathy Bennett, president of the association.
..... Hospitals have become an economic engine and political force in New Jersey, generating $70 billion in economic activity each year and employing 158,000 workers. But the cuts could have a significant impact on their bottom line and patient care.
..... An estimated 365,000 out of 1.8 million New Jersey residents enrolled in Medicaid, called NJ FamilyCare, could lose coverage as new eligibility requirements are rolled out over the next several years.
..... All "able-bodied" adults will face a requirement to work 80 hours a month, starting as early as January 2027, and no later than January 2029. Students, caregivers or individuals with a disability could qualify for an exemption.
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Trump's bill extends tax cuts partially by cutting into social service programs such as medicaid, government health insurance for low-income patients that critics of the program argue has been extended to residents who are capable of getting a job with employer-based medical benefits.
..... Hospitals executives have said the bill will hurt them in several ways.
* Hospital will lose guaranteed payments by having fewer Medicaid recipients to treat,
* Fewer Medicaid recipients will result in more uninsured New Jerseyans seeking free basic treatment in emergency rooms that are often already overcrowded and understaffed. Hospitals are required by law to provide charity care to anyone who cannot pay.
* Loss of direct federal payments from several sources, including less money for charity care and for hospitals that reach certain performance measures for maternity and behavioral health.
* Hospitals would take a hit of $6.9 billion in lost revenue over a nine-year period in addition to $1.5 billion that they are expected to provide in charity care, according to a 2025 analysis by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Urban Institutes. Bennett has said those losses are conservative, with one analysis projecting that hospitals would lose $2.8 billion in 2032 along.
Where the $540 million will go
..... A large share of the $540 million will go to New Jersey hospitals that treat a higher percentage of Medicaid recipients and uninsured patients. Money will also go to hospitals in counties with the lowest life expectancy and those considered financially distressed.
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"With this investment, we are supporting hospitals that serve on the front lines and ensure that our communities can rely on strong, stable health care services," Jeffrey Bown, New Jersey's acting helaht commissioner, said in a statement announcing the funding.
..... While some hospitals struggle, many in the garden State are in the midst of an expansion boom, with more than $6.5 billion in projects underway or set to begin soon. Demand for services is expected to skyrocket over the next several decades due to an unprecedented boom in senior citizen fueled by increasing life expectancy.