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Latest Trumpcare Bill: Like Deja Vu All Over Again

The latest Senate health bill is still bad news for New Jersey.

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Published on Jul 13, 2017 in Health

The latest Senate health bill that was released today is just as bad for New Jersey as the previous iterations, and would cause widespread loss of health care and increase suffering across the state.

Even though national polls show that nine in ten Americans oppose Medicaid cuts, the Republicans in D.C. seem hell-bent on destroying Medicaid and effectively ending the Medicaid expansion, which would harm New Jersey more than other states.

In fact, the bill still ends the current federal funding level for the Medicaid expansion in 2021. This would likely result in about 560,000 New Jerseyans – or 10 percent of all non-elderly adults – losing their health coverage, the loss of up to $4 billion in federal funds each year and the elimination of tens of thousands of jobs.

In addition, it continues to cap and reduce funding for the entire Medicaid program by about $60 billion over 20 years in New Jersey. This radical proposal has nothing to do with improving the Affordable Care Act, but everything to do with a long-standing right-wing ideological attempt to gut Medicaid. This change would eventually result in massive health care cuts to the 1.6 million New Jerseyans who are covered through Medicaid, including hundreds of thousands of Garden State kids. New Jersey’s seniors and people with disabilities – who make up about two-thirds of all Medicaid funding – would be hit the hardest.

This bill would cause deeper harm in New Jersey than other states because the state has the eighth largest enrollment in the Medicaid expansion, and because the federal Medicaid matching rate in New Jersey would be reduced the lowest level possible: 50 percent.

While the new bill does increase premium subsidies in the health insurance marketplace as compared to earlier versions, most New Jerseyans would still receive less in subsidies than under current law. What’s more, any positive impact from premium subsidies would pale compared to the Medicaid cuts, because there are eight times as many people in Medicaid than there are receiving subsidies in New Jersey.

Author

  • Ray Castro was formerly the Director of Health Policy for NJPP. In this role, he worked to improve the health outcomes of New Jerseyans by producing reports, testifying in legislative hearings and working with advocates, legislators and their staff, and other key stakeholders to change policy and boost families in need.

    Ray’s research interests include: the Affordable Care Act, universal health coverage, NJ FamilyCare, health care transformation, poverty, the social safety net, public assistance and working family tax credits.

    Before joining NJPP in August 2006, Ray worked for the New Jersey Department of Human Services for more than 30 years, mainly serving as the Director of the DHS Office of Legislative Services in the Commissioner’s office. He was closely involved with developing federal and state legislation relating to Medicaid, mental health, welfare reform, child protective services, child care and other work support programs, and helped develop the policy and legislative strategy that led to New Jersey’s state Earned Income Tax Credit.

    He received a BA in psychology from the University of California-Berkeley and holds a master’s in social work degree with a specialization in policy from Rutgers University.