Nursing homes are another essential component of a healthy New Jersey. They care for the state's frail elderly and deliver critical jobs and other economic benefits.

New Jersey's nursing homes provide:

• 82,000 jobs
• $3 billion in employee salaries
• $4.6 billion in total expenditures that boost our state's economy.

But the economic downturn has dealt a blow to the state's nursing homes and the residents they serve:

• Nearly 30 percent have reduced jobs by eliminating vacant positions.
• 30 percent have been forced to put improvement projects on hold.
• As an industry, nursing homes have experienced declines in both their margins and cash reserves.

2010 State Budget

The proposed state budget for 2010 preserves current levels of Medicaid funding for nursing homes. However, the budget also eliminates $50 million in planned inflation updates and "rebasing" adjustments to update rates that do not reflect costs already incurred by nursing homes.

New Jersey's nursing homes provide vital services to the poorest, frailest and oldest residents of our state. Their services are critically important as New Jersey's population ages and as families struggle for resources to serve the long term care needs of their loved ones.

Click here to send a message to our state leaders voicing your support for New Jersey's elderly residents and the nursing homes that care for them.