Vainieri Huttle Questions Impact of Christie Admin's Medicaid Plan on State's Most Vulnerable

(Englewood) - Assembly Human Services Committee Chair Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D-Bergen) today released the following statement on the long-awaited details of the Christie administration's plans to save money through the state Medicaid program in the FY 2012 budget:

"While I'm pleased that the Department of Human Services has released more information, it is still not enough to know if our state's most vulnerable citizens will retain vital medical care under the administration's plan.

"What we do know is that by freezing Medicaid eligibility at its current level, the administration will deny uninsured New Jerseyans access to health care and will place even more strain on already underfunded emergency medical services. In the end, this simply shifts the costs, while limiting access to care for patients.

"Ultimately this plain is still murky because a great deal of this estimated savings is predicated on approval by the federal government, which we may or may not get for nearly a year."