Medicaid recipients who fear the deep cuts to critical health care outlined in the budget bill just approved by the House were among participants at a roundtable convened by Gov. Phil Murphy.
While Murphy insisted the event, held at the Strand Theater in Lakewood on Friday, was not political, politics did loom large. The governor delivered frequent broadsides about the partisan vote on the Republican budget bill.
“It is an incredibly sad decision that they chose to vote for this. For the life of me, I don’t understand how they could, given the impact on the lives that this bill will have, including folks at this table,” Murphy said.
Under the bill, New Jersey could lose $3.6 billion — nearly a quarter of its Medicaid budget — throwing health care coverage in peril for some 360,000 residents. The governor said no state could make up all the projected budget cuts.
Lakewood is a boomtown where many growing families depend on Medicaid. Lauren Williams, whose daughter has bipolar disorder and lives in a residential care facility, said, “These are unstable children. If we don’t get them stable, you’re now putting mental health unstable teenagers on the street.”
For Andrew McGeady, a disability rights advocate who has cerebral palsy, Medicaid covers his 24/7 care.
“While we live in one of the greatest countries in the world, we should not have to beg or worry about proper care, medicine or health coverage. I feel I am more worthy than that,” McGeady said.
McGeady gained Medicaid coverage with the help of U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-4th). Smith and the two other New Jersey Republican congressmen joined their party to approve the controversial bill by a single vote.
“We are going to have spending cuts. But for example, in Medicaid, we can’t hurt those who are in nursing homes or who are disabled, working poor, real people, our people,” U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-2nd) said in a Fox news interview.
U.S. Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-7th) said the bill “stopped illegal immigrants from stealing taxpayer-funded benefits. By rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse, we can ensure that this vital program is there for current and future generations of Americans.”
