CREST HAVEN – Members of the public and Democratic candidates for the state Assembly asked the county Board of Commissioners May 27 for help regarding people losing Medicaid and other benefits proposed to be cut under legislation supported by President Donald Trump that would eliminate nearly $1 trillion in social safety net programs.
The commissioners essentially said no, saying those losing Medicaid, for example, are not qualified to receive it.
At the meeting Carolyn Rush, a Democratic candidate for the state Assembly in the 1st Legislative District, asked the commissioners to weigh in on the legislation, already passed by the House of Representatives.
“Our federal officials have great respect for you,” Rush said.
But the commissioners who spoke voiced support for the federal reconciliation bill that includes the cuts. (Listen to audio of the meeting here.)
Commissioner Melanie Collette said “only people who don’t belong” are losing Medicaid. Collette said that eligibility for Medicaid needs to be fixed at the state level and claimed there is an error rate in New Jersey of just below 40%.
“We can no longer deal with that,” she said.
Asked where her information came from, Collette said it was from the office of Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-2), causing some in the audience to scoff.
Ted Kingston of Strathmere said, “The rhetoric from Van Drew is not credible.”
A question sent to Van Drew’s office about his source of information was not answered before deadline.
Collette said the eligibility process in New Jersey needs to be fixed so that programs could be sustainable for the long term.
Commissioner Bobby Barr said the issue at hand was more personal. He said he is a recipient of Medicaid and Medicare, and he has to follow the same rules as everyone else. He characterized some of the public comments being made as an “arranged protest,” adding, “I take exception to that.”
“My brother needs these programs more than I do, and if I don’t have them I can’t get out of bed,” Barr said. “To make this political upsets me.”
One of the other Democrats seeking an Assembly seat in the 1st District, Brandon Saffold, talked about his personal dealings with Medicaid.
“I just spent the past year trying to get my mother help,” Saffold said.
He said he has to make sure her taxes are paid and that she has her medication. He said she doesn’t know that he is her son or even that she is in New Jersey, and he is afraid she will lose what help she has.
“I’m asking you to urge our legislators to think deeply about this,” Saffold said.
Rush urged the commissioners to pass a resolution urging New Jersey’s congressional delegation to oppose the bill, which is now in the Senate. She said that some $800 billion in cuts were going to be used to fund the Trump agenda.
She said there are nearly 17,000 county residents covered by Medicaid, and nearly 7,000 are children. The program helps some 800,000 children in New Jersey, and supports 30% of all births in the state.
Rush said the cuts could also affect the more than 7,800 county residents in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP.
Van Drew’s office provided a document from the federal Department of Agriculture, which administers the SNAP program, showing that, in 2023, 33.5% of SNAP payments were classified as “overpayments,” while only 2.2% were underpayments, and the total “payment error rate” was 35.7%.
Rush said Congress is prepared to cut $880 billion for Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act and other programs while extending nearly $5 trillion in tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans.
A member of the public who only identified herself as Hailey told the commissioners she used to argue with a college roommate about the welfare system in America and the alleged corruption within it.
After becoming a mental health professional, she said, she came to realize that the welfare system only raised families just above poverty level and strips them of all their resources, “so that they are never truly able to become stable.”
“I come here today to beg you all to show me that I am wrong. Our community already lacks so many support systems for families in need,” she said. “The majority of the commissioners’ reports from biweek to biweek have been about events, fundraisers and congratulating each other on awards.”
Barr concluded his remarks by telling people to “stop the fear-mongering,” saying he was waiting for the effects of the reconciliation bill to play out.
Contact the reporter, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or call 609-886-8600, ext. 128.
