Twelve hospitals in New Jersey are among 446 across 44 states and Washington, D.C., facing a heightened risk of closing, cutting services or laying off workers due to federal medicaid funding cuts, according to a new report.
The cuts to Medicaid were included in the “One Big Beautiful Bill” signed by President Donald Trump on July 4, 2025.
The report by Public Citizen, a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization, says the law will cut $911 billion in federal spending on Medicaid and CHIP over 10 years, according to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office.
Currently, New Jersey provides Medicaid to adults and children who qualify based on their incomes via NJ FamilyCare, and uses Medicaid for Performcare, a system that connects children who have urgent psychological needs with providers.
Federal Medicaid requirements, approved to take effect next year, may shake 300,000 New Jersey residents out of the system, state officials have warned.
The analysis identifies hospitals as at risk if they had a Medicaid, SCHIP and low-income government program payer mix of at least 20 percent on average from 2022 through 2024 and negative net profit margins over that same period.
Hospitals At Risk
In New Jersey, Public Citizen identified these 12 hospitals at a higher risk of closing, cutting services, or laying off workers:
Palisades Medical Center, North BergenEast Orange General Hospital, East OrangeInspiria Medical Center, VinelandSt. Michael’s Medical Center, NewarkCapital Health Regional Medical Center, TrentonBayonne Medical Center, BayonneClara Maass Medical Center, BellevilleTrinitas Hospital, ElizabethRobert Wood Johnson University Hospital, New BrunswickMonmouth Medical Center, LakewoodHoboken University Medical Center, HobokenNewark Beth Israel Medical Center, Newark
The report says communities served by the at-risk hospitals have larger shares of Black and Hispanic residents and people living below the poverty line than communities served by other hospitals.
It found that those hospital service areas were 20.2% Hispanic and 13.3% Black on average, compared with 13.0% Hispanic and 8.9% Black for other hospitals. Nearly 20% of the at-risk hospitals, or 85 facilities, serve high-poverty areas, according to the report.
New Jersey Closures, Cuts
The Garden State has already seen one hospital close recently, and another is looking to slash staff.
Hudson Regional Health, based in Secaucus, took over Bayonne, Christ Hospital in Jersey City, and Hoboken University Hospital after their prior owner filed for bankruptcy.
After Hudson Regional Health took over the three facilities in the summer, they said Christ Hospital — renamed Heights University Hospital — would have to close due to lack of funding. They had kept the emergency room open until last month, then closed that, too.
— With reporting by Caren Lissner