Second New Jersey budget more generous to hospitals

The latest New Jersey budget proposal is a little kinder to hospitals than its predecessor, but the state's healthcare providers say some facilities probably won't survive even the smaller funding cuts. At issue is funding for charity care: Gov. Corzine's original budget would have cut the program $143 million, to $573 million, and focused money on hospitals that treat the highest proportion of poor people. Some hospitals with a better-insured clientele would have lost charity-care funding entirely. Under the new proposal, the cut was reduced to $111 million and all of the hospitals got at least some money. The state also plans to create a $44 million hospital-stabilization fund, according to the New Jersey Hospital Association.