Sherrill Addresses How NJ Will Respond To Federal Medicaid Challenges

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill addressed on Tuesday how the state will deal with a looming budget deficit as well as federal cuts to Medicaid.

Currently, the state provides Medicaid to adults and children who qualify based on their incomes via NJ FamilyCare, and uses Medicaid for Performcare, a system that connects children who have urgent psychological needs with providers.

Federal Medicaid requirements, approved to take effect next year, may shake 300,000 New Jersey residents out of the system, state officials have warned.

While she was running for office last fall, Sherrill said medical professionals were concerned that people would end up seeking costly treatment at Emergency Rooms rather than attaining preventative and early medical care.

Corporations Covering Medicaid

In her budget address Tuesday, Sherrill did not propose cuts to the state's Medicaid programs.

Instead, she floated changes that would increase the burden on corporations that employ people using Medicaid. She also talked about new mental health programs for children.

Sherrill's budget includes $7.2 billion in state funding for NJ FamilyCare, which provides health care to over 1.8 million residents, according to her office. The program is used by nearly half of the state's children, state officials said Tuesday.

"The health care system in America is broken," Sherrill said in her speech, noting that people may have to "jump through hoops" to stay in Medicaid. Federal Medicaid clients will have to verify their status twice a year instead of just once, and those with children under 15 may have work requirements.

Sherrill said the state will invest in new technology to help families meet Pres. Donald Trump's ''burdensome paperwork requirements," she said.

Sherrill will look to large employers — any company with 50 or more workers who are on Medicaid, such as big-box store chains — to cover their employees or pay a fine. She specifically cited Amazon and Walmart as examples, and said this could impact employees such as warehouse workers.

Health Care Providers Respond

Linda Schwimmer, President and CEO of the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute, told Patch that she applauded the "important principles" in the governor's speech.

"On health care, Governor Sherrill today set forth important principles," she said, "including those we have long called for at the Quality Institute: bringing about affordability through responsibility, and, we would add, accountability. We applaud the governor’s approach to bringing stakeholders together to address critical elements of the State Health Benefit Programs; her proposed investment in modern Medicaid technology; and her proposal to tackle pharmacy costs.

Buddy Garfinkle, the executive vice president and chief program officer at Bridgeway Behavioral Health Services, said, “Medicaid is one of the most important vehicles for ensuring that people across New Jersey are able to access behavioral health care.

“For many individuals living with mental health conditions, it’s their main pathway to treatment. Maintaining these services in the state budget helps ensure people can continue getting care when they need it. When people lose coverage, they often delay care until they’re in crisis."

Mental Health And Social Media

Sherrill also floated a new system to address children's mental health, which experts say has foundered since the covid pandemic. Thousands of young New Jersey residents lost caregivers during the pandemic and suffered other affects.

"Kids are struggling with pressures that didn’t exist when we were young," she noted, "the always-on online culture, fierce competition, worries about school violence, and concerns about the future."

The state will unveil and fund SPARK (School-based Partnerships for Access and Resilience for Kids) that connects children through their schools.

"SPARK meets students in their own environment," she said.

She also pledged to address the effects of social media and the internet on children.

"The truth is, a new platform or feature rolls out every day, with the most advanced algorithms designed to addict us all," she said. "...We’re left hearing devastating stories from parents about the last thing their kids saw online. The last chat they had with AI as it told them how to take their own lives. All while Big Tech CEOs and their companies become the biggest and richest in the world. This isn’t just the Big Tobacco of our era – it’s worse.

"...This budget funds our new Office of Youth Online Mental Health Safety and Awareness – which I launched, as promised, with an executive order on my first day as governor. And it creates a Social Media Research Center, to study the impact of digital technology on young people’s mental health."

Regarding adult health care, she said her administration will pursue reforms to PBMs (Pharmacy Benefit Managers) that may drive up prescription costs.

Some experts say New Jersey still has far to go to address health care issues, as the state ranks low in terms of primary care investment.

Watch the address below.