By Diane Myers
Whether from short-term injuries or long-term chronic conditions, many older New Jersey residents need medical services that can often be performed in the comfort of their own homes.
This home-based care offers vital assistance, helping people heal where they feel safest — at home. Care at home is also the overwhelming preference for patients. More than 90% of patients on Medicare said they would prefer to receive short-term post-acute care at home after a hospitalization than at a nursing home or similar facility.
But that care is at risk.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently proposed over $1 billion in cuts to home health funding in 2026.
These cuts will mean New Jersey residents will face reduced access to services, fewer caregivers, longer waits, and forced transitions to more expensive care settings. Already, nationwide, more than one-third of people referred to home care never receive it because of staffing shortages driven by underfunding. Since 2019, more than 1,000 home health agencies have closed – and more will follow if these reductions take effect.
The impacts on New Jersey residents are significant and detrimental to their health. Not only will these cuts lead to widespread agency closures, but organizations will also face difficulty recruiting and retaining skilled staff, operational challenges amid inflation, and limited ability to serve New Jersey’s rural and underserved areas.
I have dedicated my 40-year career to leading and advancing New Jersey’s home health care. Throughout this time, I have implemented innovative processes to improve efficiency, raised funds to support patient needs, and overseen the redesign of information systems to enhance care delivery.
I currently lead a Visiting Nurse Association that has withstood numerous reimbursement changes over its 125-year history. Our mission is rooted in serving the community and providing medically necessary, short-term interventions to those in need.
CMS is the federal agency, providing health coverage to more than 160 million through Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and the Health Insurance Marketplace, according to its site.
The agency, under the leadership of Dr. Oz appointed by President Trump, says it’s targeting fraud, but this approach fails to do so and instead ignores real-world impacts on patients and long-term costs to our health care system. These short-sighted cuts will ultimately raise costs and reduce access to care when and where people need it most.
Instead of slashing funding, CMS should work with providers to prevent fraud while preserving the care millions rely on. A sustainable payment system must prioritize access to care, support high quality outcomes, and invest in the workforce necessary to meet the growing needs of New Jersey’s Medicare population.
I urge you to oppose the dangerous Medicare cuts.
In doing so, we can make sure New Jersey residents continue to get the care they need, where they need it most – at home.
Calling your elected representative in the U.S. House Of Representatives or U.S. Senate is the most effective way to influence policy. To find your representative and senator to voice your position, go to the House website and the Senate website.
Diane Myers is development manager at Visiting Nurse Association of Northern New Jersey, which delivers home health care services to residents of Morris, Sussex, Hunterdon, Warren, Passaic, and Somerset counties.
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