Which hospitals gain, lose most state funding in N.J.’s proposal?

Listen to this article

The New Jersey Department of Health released the proposed share of state funding for New Jersey’s hospitals in the upcoming fiscal year on Thursday.The New Jersey Department of Health released the proposed share of state funding for New Jersey’s hospitals in the upcoming fiscal year on Thursday.

Gov. Chris Christie’s fiscal year 2018 budget address last week proposed $252 million for charity care, a reduction from $302 million the previous year.

The cut in funding comes at a time when the Affordable Care Act is on the chopping block federally, along with Medicaid expansion that was instrumental in moving hospitals off of charity care funding.

But Christie did propose $218 million for graduate medical education, which supports residencies of medical students in the state’s teaching hospitals. GME funding is also paid through Medicare.

“This proposed funding furthers the state’s investment in a strong health care workforce and health care quality and reflects the governor’s ongoing commitment to the growth of New Jersey’s medical schools and the expansion of hospital-based teaching programs,” New Jersey Health Commissioner Cathleen Bennett said in a statement. “This budget also recognizes that documented charity care to the uninsured at our hospitals declined by 53 percent over a two-year period, but continues to provide support for this care. In addition, the increase in GME reflects the governor’s ongoing commitment to the growth of New Jersey’s medical schools and the expansion of hospital-based teaching programs.”

The combined addition of GME funding and loss of charity care dollars resulted in the following:

The five hospitals losing the most compared with FY 2017:

-$13.8 million: Jersey City Medical Center (RWJBarnabas Health)
-$6 million: East Orange General Hospital (Prospect Medical Holdings)
-$5.2 million: Capital Health, Trenton
-$3.2 million: Trinitas Regional Medical Center, Elizabeth
-$2.9 million: St. Joseph’s Healthcare System, Paterson

The five hospitals gaining the most compared with FY 2017:

$13.2 million: University Hospital, Newark
$7.8 million: Hoboken University Medical Center (CarePoint Health)
$3.7 million: St. Francis Medical Center, Trenton
$2.7 million: Morristown Medical Center (Atlantic Health System)
$2.4 million: Saint Barnabas Medical Center, Livingston (RWJBarnabas Health)

Suzanne Ianni, CEO and president of the Hospital Alliance of New Jersey, which represents the state’s safety net hospitals, praised the distribution of funds.

“We applaud Gov. Christie and Department of Health Commissioner Cathleen Bennett for following the federal intent of the charity care program, which is to target funding to safety net hospitals serving a disproportionate share of low-income patients,” she said in a statement. “Hospital Alliance is also extremely grateful for the funding increases for both graduate medical education and behavioral health.  These dollars help to preserve access to health care in low-income communities, create jobs and help millions of New Jerseyans live healthier lives.”