skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Sunday, March 23, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Wildfires prompt evacuation in the Carolinas as New Jersey crews battle their own blaze; Iowa town halls find 'empty chairs'; California groups bring generations together to work on society's biggest problems; and Pennsylvania works to counter Trump clean energy rollbacks.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Lawmakers from both parties face angry constituents. Some decide to skip town halls rather than address concerned voters and Kentucky considers mandatory Medicaid work requirements.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Cuts to Medicaid and frozen funding for broadband are both likely to have a negative impact on rural healthcare, which is already struggling. Plus, lawsuits over the mass firing of federal workers have huge implications for public lands.

Medicaid cuts could threaten schools supports in NJ

play audio
Play

Monday, March 10, 2025   

As federal government spending cuts loom, advocates for keeping Medicaid intact are calling attention to how the funding is used in public schools, in New Jersey and nationwide.

Medicaid provides health insurance for more than 37 million children in the nation, but it is less well known Medicaid funding also supports a number of services in public schools.

Jennifer Higgins, president of the American Federation of Teachers-New Jersey, said threats to the Department of Education, along with Medicaid funding, would affect millions of kids.

"School districts can bill Medicaid for therapeutic and other services such as speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, audiologists, psychologists, social workers and nurses," Higgins outlined. "When you combine the cuts to both, it's financially catastrophic to not only just New Jersey, but any state."

She added the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act funding supports more than 240,000 students in the state.

Overall, New Jersey has nearly 2 million people enrolled in Medicaid, including one in three kids in the state. New Jersey's Medicaid budget is $24 billion, with about $14 billion from the federal government.

New Jersey's Department of Human Services estimates the potential effect of the proposed federal cuts in the state could be anywhere from $2 billion to $5 billion. Higgins pointed out some areas of the state have much greater need than others.

"If you look at Congressman Van Drew's district, Congressional District 2, 37.2% of the children under 19 are on Medicaid," Higgins observed. "And Congressman Smith's district, which is Congressional District 4, it's 38.8%. In the districts that cover Newark, it's almost 50%."

The state estimates up to 700,000 New Jerseyans would be at risk of losing health care.

Disclosure: The American Federation of Teachers contributes to our fund for reporting on Education, Health Issues, Livable Wages/Working Families, and Social Justice. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, established by the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act of 2020, provides free, confidential support to individuals in mental health crises. (Pixabay)

Health and Wellness

play sound

As Mississippi grapples with a growing mental health crisis, state and local leaders are being urged to prioritize diversion programs and crisis care …


Social Issues

play sound

Legislation in Virginia would prohibit any systematic removals of people from voter rolls at least 90 days before an election. Last August, …

Environment

play sound

Federal rules meant to better control harmful methane emissions will not take effect since Congress and President Donald Trump have intervened but the…


The U.S. Department of Education currently manages student loans for more than 40 million borrowers. (Adobe Stock)

play sound

Student loans are among the areas overseen by the U.S. Department of Education and since President Donald Trump has followed through on his threat to …

Social Issues

play sound

Gov. Mark Gordon has just a few days left to make final decisions on bills passed during the Wyoming legislative session. Both fair election …

As part of the Trump administration's budget-cutting moves, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has eliminated $1 billion in programs connecting local producers with food banks and school lunch programs. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

South Dakota farmers leading the "locally grown" movement have visions of a dynamic regional food production system but some of it is in doubt with lo…

Health and Wellness

play sound

This week, workers who provide in-home and nursing home care rallied against cuts to Medicaid. Washington's Medicaid, known as Apple Health…

Environment

play sound

A coalition of conservationists and tribal nations is pushing for support of the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative by state officials in Olympia…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021