AARP New Jersey Applauds State Budget for Major Steps Toward Affordability, but Raises Alarm on Nursing Home Oversight Rollbacks

FY2026 budget delivers key wins on utility affordability, property tax relief, prescription assistance, and transparency—but includes a troubling setback for nursing home quality

TRENTON, NJ – AARP New Jersey State Director, Chris Widelo, provided the following statement in response to Governor Murphy, Senate President Scutari, Assembly Speaker Coughlin, and the New Jersey Legislature coming to an agreement on the FY2026 state budget:

“AARP New Jersey applauds Governor Murphy, Senate President Scutari, Assembly Speaker Coughlin, and the entire Legislature for passing a budget including critical investments that will help older adults stay in New Jersey and keep the lights on.

“We commend state leaders for advancing bold solutions to the affordability challenges older residents face every day. The full funding of the Stay NJ property tax relief program will help thousands of older homeowners remain in the communities they helped build and call home. Expanded assistance to reduce energy bills will protect residents on fixed incomes from unbearable utility costs. The budget also maintains enhanced income eligibility for the PAAD and Senior Gold prescription assistance programs, upholds the $95 monthly minimum SNAP benefit, and fully funds the pension system for the fifth year in a row—securing retirement for hundreds of thousands of New Jerseyans. These wins represent major progress—and must be protected as a new administration takes the reins next year.

“But we must also raise serious concerns about a troubling provision that rolls back critical nursing home oversight. As our recent report found, there is widespread financial opacity and questionable spending practices in the state’s nursing home industry. The budget blocks a commonsense reform that would have allowed managed care organizations to exclude the worst-performing nursing homes from their networks—facilities with well-documented histories of providing substandard, even dangerous care. Instead of holding these homes accountable, the budget language shields them from scrutiny and forces taxpayers to continue subsidizing poor-quality care. It’s a major step backward in efforts to improve New Jersey’s long-term care system, especially at a time when we must be protecting the most vulnerable residents who call nursing homes ‘home.’

“As we look ahead to a new administration next year, AARP New Jersey will continue fighting to ensure older residents are prioritized—not just in words, but in the programs and policies that shape their lives.”

###

About AARP
AARP is the nation's largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering people 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With a nationwide presence, AARP strengthens communities and advocates for what matters most to the more than 100 million Americans 50-plus and their families: health security, financial stability and personal fulfillment. AARP also produces the nation's largest circulation publications: AARP The Magazine and AARP Bulletin. To learn more, visit www.aarp.org/about-aarp/, www.aarp.org/español or follow @AARP, @AARPenEspañol and @AARPadvocates on social media.