One year post-Roe, New Jersey expands investments in reproductive health care access
For Immediate Release: June 30, 2023
TRENTON, NJ — With the signing of the SFY2024 budget today, New Jersey continues to be a national leader in protecting and expanding access to reproductive health care. Planned Parenthood Action Fund of New Jersey (PPAFNJ) applauds Governor Murphy, Senate President Scutari, and Assembly Speaker Coughlin for their continued commitment to ensuring that everyone can get the health care services they need.
”One year after the overturning of Roe v. Wade, New Jersey legislators continue to be bold in their commitment to reproductive health care,” said PPAFNJ Executive Director Jackie Cornell. “The historic investments in the SFY2024 budget will ensure people in the Garden State have access to reproductive health care services including abortion care, regardless of their income, insurance coverage, or zip code.”
Building on the investments in family planning services in last year’s budget, the SFY2024 budget includes funding that increases Medicaid reimbursement rates for reproductive health care services via a $10 million budget line item. Increasing Medicaid rates for reproductive health services expands access for the approximately 2 million New Jerseyans in the program, ensures the long-term sustainability of reproductive health care providers, and will foster a great return on investment for the state as family planning dollars in Medicaid are subject to a 9-to-1 federal match.
Additionally, the SFY2024 budget continues investments first introduced in last year’s budget, including increased funding for family planning services as well as grants that support abortion provider training along with facility and security upgrades.
“Thanks to the federal government’s commitment to reproductive health, New Jersey’s investment will have a multiplied impact,” continued Cornell. “Every family planning dollar appropriated to Medicaid will be matched 9-to-1 – resulting in increased access to high-quality reproductive health care at providers across the state.”
The Legislature and Administration’s commitment to funding reproductive health care will enable Planned Parenthood health centers in New Jersey to continue to serve over 100,000 patients per year at 22 health centers throughout the state. Planned Parenthood health centers are proud to offer patients a full range of reproductive health care services, including lifesaving cancer screenings, birth control, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections and HIV/AIDS, and abortion services.
State funding allows Planned Parenthood health centers to serve as essential safety net providers in the community. In 2022, seventy-seven percent of the patients who received care at a New Jersey Planned Parenthood health center were living with incomes at or below 150 percent of the federal poverty level – roughly $45,000 a year for a family of four.