Cuts to Medicaid Supported by Congressional Republicans Would Have a Devastating Impact on Health Care Access for Residents Across New Jersey - Families USA Skip to Main Content
05.02.2025 / Press Release

Cuts to Medicaid Supported by Congressional Republicans Would Have a Devastating Impact on Health Care Access for Residents Across New Jersey

New Fact Sheets from Families USA Highlight the Importance of Medicaid for Families in NJ-02, NJ-04 and NJ-07

NEWARK, NJ – New fact sheets from Families USA detail the impact of deep cuts to the Medicaid program in the Republican budget that Reps. Van Drew, Smith, and Kean voted for, which would have devastating consequences for the health and economic security of New Jersey. Communities across the state will be impacted including in South, Central, North Jersey and the Jersey Shore where the Medicaid program, NJ Family Care, provides health care coverage for more than 402,000 total residents, according to the fact sheets.

“Americans have been showing up in townhalls, calling their representatives in Congress and demanding that Republicans in Washington stop their plan to massively cut the health care that Americans want and need,” said Anthony Wright, executive director of Families USA. “Deep cuts to Medicaid would be devastating for New Jersey residents, resulting in significant coverage losses, forcing rural hospitals, long-term care facilities or community clinics to close or scale back services, and throwing state budgets into crisis. We should all be asking every member of Congress who voted for this budget why they are willing to harm working families in their own district just to pay for a tax break for billionaires.”

“We need our Republican representatives, Jeff Van Drew, Chris Smith, and Tom Kean, Jr., to stand firm against any cuts that would threaten Medicaid, which provides life-sustaining health services for nearly two million New Jerseyans,” said Laura Waddell, health care program director for New Jersey Citizen Action. “These recipients include low-income workers, seniors, people with disabilities and children. In Van Drew’s district alone, more than 66,000 children, or 40% of all children in the district, depend on NJ Family Care/Medicaid. In Smith’s district that figure is 34%, or 67,500 children, in Kean’s district 16,500 seniors and people with disabilities depend on NJ Family Care/Medicaid. We urge our entire Congressional delegation to stand against any proposed legislation that would enable these cuts, while there is still time to do so.”

Medicaid is a lifeline for New Jersey: 

  • 402,600 total residents in NJ-02, NJ-04 and NJ-07.
  • 156,000 total children living in NJ-02, NJ-04 and NJ-07.
  • 66,800 total seniors and people with disabilities have Medicaid coverage in all three districts.

Families across New Jersey already struggle to pay for health care:

  • More than 80% of people living in South, Central and North Jersey are worried about affording health care.
  • More than 35% of people living in South, Central and North Jersey had to deplete savings, take on debt or sacrifice basic necessities to obtain medical care.
  • More than 45% of people living in South, Central and North Jersey skipped needed care due to cost.

Families USA and New Jersey Citizen Action are organizing in New Jersey and across the nation to protect Medicaid from severe cuts, caps or other regulations that will result in millions of Americans losing access to the health care they need. Earlier this year, Families USA led hundreds of organizations to call on Congress and the Trump administration to reject cuts to Medicaid and work to make health care more affordable, not less.

For additional resources, see Families USA’s fact sheets on how work reporting requirements would undermine access to Medicaid, how cuts harm families and communities, and the overall importance of Medicaid to people, the economy and the health care system.

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