| Once again, the less fortunate among us are being asked by the Christie administration to do more than their fair share in the governor's "shared sacrifice" approach to the budget crisis. This time it is lower income Medicaid recipients who are the victims of Christie's draconian axe.
On the day when the New Jersey Supreme Court rebuked Governor Christie's refusal to carry out the legislature's education mandates, the Assembly Budget Committee heard testimony from the governor's health leadership team - Mary O'Dowd, Commissioner of Health, and Jennifer Velez, Commissioner of Human Services.
The primary purpose of the hearing, chaired by Assemblyman Louis Greenwald (D-Camden), was to discuss the administration's proposal for a waiver to certain federal Medicaid requirements. The impetus for the waiver is a savings of $300 million. |
| Greenwald started off the hearing by questioning the commissioners about a Star-Ledger article that reported that for a family of three, the eligibility for Medicaid would be reduced from those with incomes below $24,645 to the amazingly low threshold of $5,317. It quickly became clear that Velez and O'Dowd were either unprepared or unwilling to share some basic parameters regarding their proposal, which will be submitted to the Federal Department of Health and Human Services on June 30. Nevertheless, they acknowledged that these reductions are part of their plan, although the exact income figures were never exactly pinned down.
Neither commissioner gave a straight answer to Greenwald's questions about how the 23,000 New Jersey residents who would no longer be eligible for assistance could obtain basic medical services. All agreed that emergency rooms are not the proper venue for routine care, but the commissioners contended that there are alternative providers. Greenwald insisted that most people would still opt for the ER as their first choice because it is the most convenient.
Greenwald is sometimes prone to inject political barbs into his hearings, but not this one. He was courteous but insistent that certain questions be answered, such as how waivers for the $25 co-pay are to be granted and what would be the overall impact to the state's budget when people are unable to afford preventative care. Neither commissioner answered his questions.
This time, it was Assemblyman Jay Webber (R-Morris) who politicized the hearings. In his snarky opening, he said, "I don't take responsibility for the way you've been treated, but I apologize to you." He lambasted the Democrats for not making progress during the time they controlled the Legislature and governor's office. Greenwald quickly pointed out that under the previous Democratic administration the number of uninsured residents was reduced by 11%.
Velez railed about the fact that there are "structural problems" with New Jersey's health care, with different departments responsible for different aspects. But she never explained why reducing benefits is the solution to these organizational issues. And while she often reiterated that the aged, blind, disabled, and children are still covered, she never held out any solution for the 23,000 people who live in poverty in a state with a high cost of living.
No one on either side of the aisle downplays the budget crisis that faces our state. As the GOP, the party of "fiscal responsibility", squanders taxpayer money on aborted tunnel projects and sabotages education grants, our governor spent the day in a self-aggrandizing press conference and at a taxpayer-funded political rally in Cherry Hill. He could have better served his constituents by rolling up his sleeves and working with the Legislature to find a better health care solution that doesn't break the backs and the hearts of the working poor.
Listening to the complexities of Medicaid, Medicare, FQHCs, co-pays, reimbursements, and a host of indecipherable acronyms, one wonders if a Medicare-for-all program at the federal level would give all the citizens of this country the health care they deserve. Of course it would, but unfortunately, those in power who are beholden to the medical-industrial complex would never give this simple and cost-effective solution the time of day.
Commissioner Velez consults with an aide |
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