New Jersey State Budget Means an Uncertain Future for Hospitals
PRINCETON, N.J., June 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The following is a statement from Betsy Ryan, President and CEO Designee, New Jersey Hospital Association:
“The 2009 state budget signed into law today has been hailed as a historic step forward in fiscal responsibility. But for New Jersey’s hospitals, the budget marks the state’s retreat from its commitment to pay a fair amount for the care that it mandates that hospitals provide to any of the 1.3 million New Jersey residents without health insurance.
“This budget cuts $111 million, or 15.5 percent, from the charity care program that is designed to care for New Jersey’s uninsured residents. Patients will continue to receive the care – that’s a requirement on hospitals, written in state law. The brunt of this cut will be borne by the hospitals themselves. The timing and the severity of these cuts couldn’t be worse. New Jersey has lost seven hospitals to closure in the last 18 months, and an eighth hospital plans to close its doors in the coming days. Five others have declared bankruptcy. Of the 75 hospitals that remain, half are losing money.
“With our economy in a recession, we fear the number of uninsured will only rise. New Jersey now has fewer hospitals which will be expected to care for more uninsured with less money.
“Patients, employees and entire communities feel the pain when a hospital closes. Lost jobs, reduced services and longer drives and longer waits for needed healthcare services are becoming a real-life worry for a growing list of New Jersey communities.
“We appreciate the Legislature’s attempt to stop the bleeding with the $44 million stabilization fund. But it could be too little too late, especially in an industry where 26 New Jersey hospitals lost a combined $340.8 million last year.
“There is one key issue where NJHA wholeheartedly agrees with our elected officials in Trenton – the need for healthcare reform. The current system that requires hospitals to provide care without adequate reimbursement is indeed broken. NJHA pledges its cooperation to help our leaders shape a reform plan that insures more New Jerseyans and assures them a future of quality and accessible hospital care. Draconian budget cuts are not reform. We need a system that provides healthcare to our most vulnerable without driving our hospitals to the brink of financial ruin. But until that happens – and hopefully it will be a matter of months, not years – our hospitals remain the safety net for New Jersey’s less fortunate. To abandon hospitals is to abandon New Jersey’s 1.3 million uninsured working poor residents, and we can’t let that happen.”
For additional information contact: Kerry McKean Kelly 609-275-4069 kmckean@njha.com
New Jersey Hospital Association
CONTACT: Kerry McKean Kelly of New Jersey Hospital Association,+1-609-275-4069, kmckean@njha.com