Dems, GOP each get a Mostly False from the Truth-O-Meter

The Truth-O-Meter found fault with weekend claims that made issue of funding matters for health care and the state budget.

In case you missed it, the Truth-O-Meter gave Mostly False rulings to an Amy Handlin claim Sunday about Medicaid funding and a John Burzichelli claim Monday about the governor’s use of a particular type of budgeting technique.

Handlin claim

In an April 4 opinion piece in the Times of Trenton, Handlin (R-Monmouth) criticized the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act because New Jersey wouldn’t be eligible for matching federal funds for certain low-income parents enrolled in Medicaid. Handlin wrote, "These new enrollees won’t qualify for the matching federal funds simply because we added them onto the rolls before 2014." PolitiFact New Jersey found Handlin’s claim mostly inaccurate because the issue isn’t about whether matching funds from the state will be received, but how much. New Jersey now receives a 65 percent match from the federal government for these parents but the funding level will drop to 50 percent when expanded Medicaid eligibility takes effect in January 2014.

Burzichelli claim

The South Jersey assemblyman, a Democrat, claimed during a March 28 NJTV appearance that Gov. Chris Christie has increased by 500 percent the use of one-shots, or one-time revenue sources, in the state budget compared with when Jon Corzine was governor.  But what Burzichelli didn’t make clear was that he was referring to just one type of one shots, not all such revenue sources. As Erin O’Neill explained in her report, "Let’s say a family spent less on groceries this year than last year, but spent more on cereal over the same time frame. Overall, the family spent less, even though they spent more on a particular type of food." In total, Christie is using fewer one-shots than Corzine. But Christie’s reliance on a specific type of one-shots has increased. State Treasury Department documents show the state used $3.82 billion in one-shots in fiscal year 2010, the last budget Corzine signed. Christie’s 2013 budget proposal includes $1.64 billion in such revenues.

To comment on this story, go to NJ.com.

What’s ahead

Want to learn more about PolitiFact New Jersey and the Truth-O-Meter? Sign up to receive our free e-mail newsletter, expected to launch in coming weeks, or schedule PolitiFact New Jersey Editor Caryn Shinske to speak to your organization or class. You may call Shinske at (973) 392-1503 or e-mail her at [email protected].