NJ Budget Cuts Threaten HIV, Housing & Family Health Programs

New Jersey nonprofits that provide HIV/AIDS care, addiction treatment, and housing support are warning of serious service cuts under Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s $60.7 billion budget proposal, which would eliminate state grants to more than 30 organizations that currently receive Department of Health funding.

The Visiting Nurse Association Health Group stands to lose $2 million under the plan. The Parsippany-based nonprofit runs programs across New Jersey that support first-time mothers, connect people with addiction treatment, and help people with AIDS navigate care. Christopher Rinn, president and CEO of VNA Health Group, said the proposed cuts would force the organization to scale back services that low-income families rely on.

“We were surprised and disappointed,” Rinn told the New Jersey Monitor. “These are important safety net programs. And make no mistake about it, without this funding, services will be scaled back.”

Also at risk are LGBTQ services offered through a VNA Health Group affiliate clinic in Asbury Park, Rinn said. That clinic operates with federal support, but state funding helps keep some programs running.

Sherrill’s budget, released Tuesday, recommends that more than 30 organizations previously receiving state health grants get no state dollars in the fiscal year beginning July 1. Those groups now provide free cancer screenings, diabetes programs, and homelessness reduction services across the state. Sherrill said she was forced to trim costs following federal funding cuts and rising inflation, but said she sought to protect access to essential health care. State lawmakers have until July 1 to adopt a final budget, and in the past, they have restored some or all funding that a governor’s initial proposal cut.

The Senate and Assembly budget committees held public hearings Tuesday and Wednesday to gather public input.

The federal threat to Medicaid sharpened the anxiety at those hearings. Changes pushed by the Trump administration to the publicly funded Medicaid program could cause roughly 350,000 New Jerseyans to lose health coverage and reduce federal hospital aid by $3.3 billion annually. Sherrill’s budget allocates nearly $26 billion for Medicaid, which is administered by the Department of Human Services, with $7.1 billion coming from state taxpayers.

That’s a lot at stake.

“Medicaid for us is critically important,” said Axel Tores-Marrero, a leader at the Hyacinth AIDS Foundation, in testimony before lawmakers. Nearly two-thirds of people living with or at risk for HIV/AIDS are covered by Medicaid, he said.

Rinn said Sherrill’s own health care transition team had warned about the impact of federal Medicaid changes and urged the state to partner with private sector organizations to shore up safety net health care options. He doesn’t think the proposed cuts move in that direction.

“These budget cuts will weaken an already fragile system,” Rinn said.

The organizations losing funding aren’t fringe operations. Many have served New Jersey communities for decades, filling gaps that hospitals and larger health systems don’t cover, particularly in cities like Asbury Park, Paterson, and Newark where uninsured and underinsured residents depend on them most. Rinn said VNA Health’s affiliate clinic in Asbury Park is one example of how state and federal dollars work together to keep services running in communities that can’t absorb the loss.

Advocates say the timing is especially difficult. Federal cuts to programs like those administered through the Health Resources and Services Administration have already strained budgets at many of these nonprofits before Trenton’s proposed reductions even take effect. Organizations serving people living with HIV/AIDS, in particular, say they were already operating without margin.

Lawmakers now face pressure from hospitals, community health groups, and AIDS advocates to restore the eliminated grants before the July 1 budget deadline. Whether they do so will depend on how much revenue the state collects over the next few months and how much political pressure builds in Trenton. The public hearings this week gave advocates their first formal chance to make the case directly to the legislature.