Pallone: Republicans Plan to Rob New Jersey of $3.6 Billion in Medicaid Funding Each Year to Benefit Billionaires

Washington, DC – Congressman Frank Pallone Jr., the top Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, warned today that House Republicans are advancing devastating cuts to Medicaid and Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium assistance that would threaten health care coverage for up to 814,000 of New Jersey residents.

“Trump’s latest tax scam is a five-alarm fire for New Jersey,” said Pallone. “The Republicans’ bill rips health care away from hundreds of thousands of our neighbors, sticks taxpayers with the bill, and hands a windfall to billionaires. And Republicans are doing it all in the dead of night – first with our 26-hour Committee mark-up, then the Sunday night budget vote, now with a 1 a.m. Rules Committee meeting. It is immoral to steal health care from people with disabilities just to fund tax breaks for the ultra-rich. And I will fight it every step of the way.”

New estimates from the New Jersey Department of Human Services and the Department of Banking and Insurance show the impact would be severe:

• 360,000 Medicaid enrollees, including 20 percent of NJ FamilyCare recipients and 50 percent of the state’s Medicaid expansion population, could lose coverage
• New Jersey would lose $3.6 billion per year in federal Medicaid funding
• 454,000 residents who rely on ACA premium tax credits will likely lose health coverage after facingaverage premium increases of $1,260 per person and $4,168 for a family of four
• $300 million in hospital funding would be eliminated
• The state’s federal Medicaid match rate would drop from 64 percent to 55 percent
• New administrative requirements would cost the state an estimated $200 million annually
• A proposed $700 million penalty would target states like New Jersey that cover all children, including undocumented children.

The warning comes after Pallone led the opposition in a 26-hour markup of the Republican legislation in the Energy and Commerce Committee last week. Now Republicans are rushing the bill to the House floor under the cover of night, with the final step before a floor vote taking place at 1 a.m. Wednesday morning when the House Rules Committee is scheduled to meet.

Pallone has long been a central figure in national health care policy. He helped write the Affordable Care Act and has led the effort in Congress to expand coverage and protect Medicaid from partisan attacks.