For three years we have been calling on the Governor and Legislature to expand our children’s health insurance program. Today more than 80,000 children in New Jersey are uninsured, the majority of them are children of color. And, 1 in 4 of the uninsured children also live in households who have been excluded from pandemic relief aid for over a year.
COVID makes our calls for the Governor and Legislature to act all that more urgent. We cannot wait and let another year go by before expanding coverage to all kids.
That is why we were pleased to hear the Governor indicate his support for covering all kids in his budget address. But to do that, we will need to pass S876/A4387 without delay. This bill supported by NJCA and our NJ For Health Care partner organizations will:
- Expand NJ Family Care eligibility to all children who meet the income requirement;
- Permanently waive premiums that were waived during COVID and eliminates the 90-day waiting period for enrollees;
- Re-establish a buy-in program within 18 months for children in households that exceed the NJ Family Care income limits and who lack access to affordable coverage; and
- Establishes an outreach program and demonstration project targeting uninsured children.
By passing this legislation now, we will make sure every child in our state will have access to quality healthcare in 2022. We cannot delay. Every day we delay the expansion of coverage for all of our children we risk their health and increase future health care costs for us all.
Take Action today and urge Legislative leaders to move S876/A4387 without delay. Contact your representatives and ask them to co-sponsor the bill. Let’s resolve to make 2021 the last year any child in New Jersey will be without health care.