Local Hospitals Get Increased Funding from State

The state Department of Health and Senior Services has released figures on how it will distribute nearly $1 billion in state funding to hospitals.

in New Brunswick will receive $23.1 million, an increase of $265,654. in New Brunswick will receive $13.1 million, a $74,572 increase. The will receive $1.74 million, an $8,253 increase.

The funding, part of Gov. Chris Christie's 2013 budget, comes from a merger of three hospital funding programs: Charity Care, Graduate Medical Education and the Hospital Relief Subsidy Fund.

“New Jersey hospitals provide excellent care to our state’s residents, even when they face challenging circumstances,” Gov. Christie said in a press release. “It is critical that we support our hospitals in protecting the health of New Jerseyans and particularly our most vulnerable.”

The hospital funding includes $675 million for Charity Care, $90 million for Graduate Medical Education funding to train physicians and $166 million for the Hospital Relief Subsidy Fund, which assists hospitals with high volumes of behavioral health and obstetric care. The governor’s proposed budget also includes $30 million for the Health Care Stabilization Fund. That fund, which is awarded competitively in the spring, assists health care organizations in maintaining health care access in communities where services are at risk, according to the release.

According to NJ.com, the figures represent only a 10 percent shift in funding, with money foing from "hospitals that treated fewer uninsured patients to those who treated more from to 2009 to 2010."