The Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Health told the Assembly Budget Committee on Wednesday that the department’s proposed fiscal year 2026 budget totals $1.4 billion and was prepared amid “a state structural deficit” and what she called an increasingly hostile national environment for public health.

The commissioner said the department learned “just days ago” that nearly $300,000,000 in federal support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had been pulled back immediately. “If that money is cut,” she said, “93% of local health agencies are impacted,” because much of the funding had been passed through to local public-health departments, community health workers and state laboratory infrastructure.

Why it matters: Committee members repeatedly pressed the commissioner on how the proposed cuts would affect hospitals, homebound vaccination access, charity-care funding, emergency medical services and preparations for the FIFA World Cup matches scheduled in New Jersey next summer.

The governor’s budget — which the commissioner described as finalized before the federal rescission — proposes major continuing subsidies for hospitals and investments in public-health programs and data modernization. The department’s written breakdown and testimony cited roughly $3.6 billion in direct hospital subsidies statewide (total figure referenced by the department as a long‑running program of state support), including $336.5 million for graduate medical education, $210 million for the hospital quality-improvement program, $61 million in straight charity-care subsidies and $539 million in Medicaid outpatient state-directed payments. The budget also would allocate $32 million for uncompensated care at federally qualified health centers and $405 million to operate four state psychiatric hospitals.

On charity care and Medicaid: The commissioner said the administration’s proposal shifts part of hospital charity funding into Medicaid state-directed payments to secure a larger federal match. She warned that the current plan assumes certain federal Medicaid match assumptions remain in place, and that a different federal decision would require legislative partnership and a new approach.

Vaccination and infectious-disease response: The department requested an additional $1 million to expand adult vaccination access and $1 million for multilingual messaging and other World Cup–related preparedness activities. The commissioner said New Jersey’s measles vaccination rate has dipped below the >95% herd‑immunity threshold and said the state now averages about 91–92% vaccination coverage; she pointed to recent, travel-related measles cases that were contained by contact tracing.

Laboratory and federal grant risk: The commissioner stressed that the lost CDC funding included “public‑health infrastructure” grants for state laboratories and local health agencies. She said the department has obtained a temporary restraining order that pauses the federal rescission while the courts consider the matter but added that the agency is in a ‘‘holding pattern’’ until the final decision.

Mental health, addiction and integrated licensing: Testimony described a proposed new integrated license to allow outpatient primary care, mental health and addiction treatment to be delivered under a single regulatory framework; the commissioner said the rulemaking package should open for public comment April 21. She also described continuing investments in substance‑use disorder treatment, including expansion of medication for addiction treatment and broader paramedic authority to administer buprenorphine under an executive directive.

Maternal and child health: The budget would fund perinatal workforce expansion (including doulas and midwives) with $1 million of new funding, continued support for the maternal mortality review committee and the New Jersey Maternal Data Center, and additional funding for early‑intervention services. The commissioner acknowledged persistent racial disparities in maternal mortality.

Hospital and safety-net support: Committee members pressed the department on hospital finances and access. The commissioner said the proposed budget preserves funding for hospitals as structured but stressed the proposal depends on federal match mechanics; she said that, without changes, an older formula would have cut hospitals by roughly $35.4 million. The department also plans to add $500,000 to expand licensing and survey teams.

Emergency medical services and data modernization: The commissioner described funding to preserve the electronic patient care reporting (EPCR) system used by emergency medical services and said the department maintains certification for more than 21,000 EMTs and paramedics who respond to about 1.5 million emergencies annually. Data modernization and public dashboards were cited as high priorities for transparency and faster situational awareness.

Public‑event preparedness: With the FIFA World Cup drawing more than a million visitors to New Jersey, the commissioner warned that the state must bolster laboratory capacity, multilingual communications and food-safety inspections. She urged legislative support to ensure preparedness funding is sufficient, noting that federal pullbacks could reduce capacity.

Department staffing and cuts: The commissioner said the Department of Health proposed roughly a 2% budget cut overall and that many programs are grant passthroughs. She described the difficult choices required in a tight budget year and pledged to work with legislators as federal decisions evolve.

What remains uncertain: The department repeatedly told lawmakers the FY26 proposal was drafted before the federal rescission; if the CDC or Medicaid funding changes move forward, the commissioner said the department will need to revisit allocations and seek the Legislature’s partnership. The department also said specific capital funding decisions (for example, some hospital capital projects) are handled in other agencies and departments.

The committee invited follow‑up data from the department to quantify personnel spending, program‑by‑program cuts and the impact of federal grant uncertainty. The commissioner said the department would provide those details through committee channels and continue to brief lawmakers as the court case and federal decisions unfold.

Near-term follow-up: The commissioner said the department will open the integrated‑license rules to public comment on April 21 and will distribute program‑level budget detail to the committee. She also noted the department had initiated a stop-work order on projects supported solely by the $300 million in federal grants while the legal challenge is pending.