Pa. & N.J. await passage of Medicaid funding

    The same federal funding that Pennsylvania says it needs to balance its budget is also needed for the same thing in New Jersey.
    Unless Congress acts to extend the funding beyond its scheduled expiration in December, New Jersey will lose about $580 million in federal revenue needed to balance the state budget for the remaining six months of the fiscal year.

    The same federal funding that Pennsylvania says it needs to balance its budget is also needed for the same thing in New Jersey.

    Unless Congress acts to extend the funding beyond its scheduled expiration in December, New Jersey will lose about $580 million in federal revenue needed to balance the state budget for the remaining six months of the fiscal year.
    Ray Castro with New Jersey Policy Perspective is concerned that would lead to more reductions in social service programs.

    “They could be made in Medicaid. They could be made in charity care. There’s a lot of different programs that are going to be vulnerable. Already half a million low income people lost benefits in the budget cuts that took effect this year. So anything above that would be a huge problem for the state.”

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    Castro says the loss of that revenue could also result in job reductions and slow New Jersey’s economic recovery.

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