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Funds for Training Doctors Tripled Since 2010

Governor Christie’s Fiscal Year 2017 budget supports New Jersey’s healthcare system with $775.1 million in hospital funding including charity care, medical education and quality improvement.

The proposed budget includes $352 million for charity care, $166.6 million for the hospital incentive program known as Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) and $188 million for Graduate Medical Education (GME), a $60.7 million increase from last year’s budget to support our teaching hospitals. The Governor’s proposed budget also includes $24.7 million for Hospital Mental Health Offset Payments and $43.8 million for the support of University Hospital.

A total of 49 hospitals are participating in DSRIP, which rewards hospitals for achieving measurable improvement in quality. All 42 hospitals with teaching programs for interns and residents will benefit from the GME program. The Christie administration has increased funding for the GME program by $128 million since 2010.

“Since 2010, we’ve more than tripled our funding to offset the cost of educating our doctors, and this is important to continue investing in our long-term health care workforce as well as the short term system improvements,” Governor Christie said during his SFY2017 Budget Message on Feb. 16, 2016.

“Our healthcare system is fundamentally transforming, driven in large part by Medicaid expansion and payment changes that emphasize value, reduced cost and wellness,” said Acting Commissioner Cathleen D. Bennett. “The results include more New Jerseyans covered by Medicaid, less need for hospitals to provide charity care, and increased need for outpatient services and wellness initiatives.”

The Commissioner said the proposed budget “right sizes the charity care program to align it with the increased use of Medicaid to support the continuing transformation of our health system and better serve the residents of New Jersey.’’

GME distribution information is preliminary and subject to final hospital data submission.

The proposed FY2017 hospital funding distribution for charity care and GME can be found at:

http://www.state.nj.us/health/documents/hf_budget2017.pdf

To view the Calendar Year 2014 Documented Charity Care report visit:

http://www.state.nj.us/health/charitycare/documents/cc_report2014.pdf

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