New Jersey Reentry Corporation Releases H.R. 1 Compliance Plan Following Statewide SNAP & Medicaid Action Meeting
NJRC will protect Medicaid and SNAP coverage for returning citizens, persons in recovery, and veterans
JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Following a statewide H.R. 1 Compliance Conference, convened by the New Jersey Reentry Corporation and University Hospital on June 9, 2026, NJRC released a comprehensive H.R. 1 compliance report proposing practical steps to help eligible residents retain Medicaid and SNAP benefits.
The report (attached) was submitted to Governor Mikie Sherrill, Senate President Nicholas P. Scutari, and Assembly Speaker Craig J. Coughlin.
The Conference brought together legislative leaders, State officials, healthcare executives, physicians, behavioral health experts, and community organizations. Participants focused on preventing eligible residents from losing benefits because of incomplete, unavailable, or untimely documentation.
NJDHS projects that between 165,000 and 330,000 residents could lose NJ FamilyCare coverage, placing up to $3 billion in annual federal Medicaid funding at risk. Additional provider-tax-related reductions beginning in FY2028 could bring the total annual fiscal impact to approximately $6 billion. H.R. 1 may also reduce monthly SNAP participation by approximately 47,000 people.
At the Conference, Senate Majority Leader M. Teresa Ruiz emphasized the importance of supporting residents through the transition:
"And so that is what's unique about what's happening here. Not unique to New Jersey because we always do it better and we always try to do it first. Sometimes it takes us a little bit longer, but we get to the finish line with a policy that becomes a national marker for other states to emulate. We have a fierce Governor who recognizes human capital making investments in those spaces. We have huge advocates in this room who recognize that government can't do it alone. We have faith-based leaders who know that they're variable in an equation of success. We have brilliant minds from the federal and state levels, all here. And then we have individuals who have gone through this that we must listen to. Because if anyone's going to come up with a solution, it's the person who's actually had this lived experience. "
Senator Joseph F. Vitale, Chair of the Senate Health, Human Services, and Senior Citizens Committee, stated:
“The moral implications of HR1 are extraordinary, and they're multi-layered, and they just go out here in the lives of millions of people that will be impacted while they are just trying to live their lives.”
Speaker Coughlin highlighted Assembly Bill 3883, which would help residents navigate the new requirements, including through qualifying volunteer service:
“The other bill we passed is 3883, and what that is designed to do is to make sure that residents have the tools that they need to navigate the new work requirements coming up for SNAP and for Medicaid, particularly with regard to volunteering.”
A central concern is the medical-frailty exemption. The CMS interim final rule requires consideration of whether a medical condition prevents an individual from working, but the evidentiary standard remains unclear.
NJDHS Commissioner Dr. Stephen Cha emphasized partnership:
“How do we work with state agencies, counties, providers, community organizations, all of you in this room, to stay closely aligned on how we support people through this?”
Assistant Commissioner Gregory Woods cautioned that county social service agencies are already stretched:
“It is critically important that we are, that each of the county social service agencies are, prepared just for that workload that is coming their way in January.”
University Hospital President and CEO Carole Johnson emphasized the broader healthcare consequences:
“You can't take a trillion dollars out of the health care system and expect it's just going to affect the Medicaid population. This is going to affect everyone.”
Dr. Petros Levounis, Chair of Psychiatry at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and former president of the American Psychiatric Association, observed:
“We’re forcing people over and over again to prove how bad they are. This will have a significant psychological toll on our patients.”
Returning citizens face particular barriers, including missing identification, unstable mailing addresses, behavioral health needs, and limited access to documentation. Veterans have also lost their prior automatic SNAP exemption and must now establish another qualifying exemption or satisfy the work requirement.
NJRC respectfully intends to assist the State as a documentation and compliance partner. Its “Reentry Workforce Readiness Program” would combine benefits screening, identification recovery, workforce preparation, digital literacy, supervised job search, volunteer service, work experience, and credentialed training so that participants may meet the 80-hour monthly work program requirements for SNAP and Medicaid.
As a SNAP Employment and Training provider and a qualified Medicaid work program, NJRC’s proposed framework includes benefits screening, exemption documentation, qualifying-activity enrollment, monthly verification, and assistance responding to notices and cure periods.
NJRC is grateful for the governmental and medical leadership demonstrated at the June 9 convening and offers this proposal in support of the State, counties, healthcare providers, and the residents they serve.
About NJRC
The New Jersey Reentry Corporation provides access to healthcare, workforce training, legal services, case management, connections to addiction treatment, identification and recovery, and veteran-specific support. NJRC participants have a three-year reincarceration rate of 14.01 percent, compared with 22.0 percent statewide.
For additional information, visit https://njreentry.org/h-
