From NJ PBS studios, this is NJ Spotlight News.

- Hello and thanks for joining us tonight.

I'm Briana Vannozzi.

Coming up, from major companies leaving the Garden State to job losses spiking, is it a warning sign for the state's business climate?

One industry leader weighs in.

Plus, major changes are coming for New Jersey's Medicaid program.

We'll tell you what to expect.

But first, anchor relief payments are set to go out this week to homeowners and renters.

on how much you could be called bracket creep coul you more in taxes.

Joanna next funding for NJ spotl by R. W. J. Barnabas.

Hel jbh dot org.

Well, paymen of as much as $1,500 will start landing in personal bank accounts and mailboxes this month.

It s part of the $2 billion the Sherrill administration has set aside for the Anchor Property Tax Relief Program.

But while those checks roll out, there s another tax issue that could quietly be costing some residents more.

It s a phenomenon known as bracket creep, and it can erode the value of your paycheck.

Our budget and finance writer, John Reitmeyer, has been looking at both sides of the tax equation, and he spoke with Joanna Gagis as part of our Under the Dome series.

- John, great to see you.

Some good news for New Jerseyans.

It's that time of year again when anchor benefits start going out.

Let's talk numbers and who is eligible for what this year.

Yeah, it's great to be with you also and also to be talking about, you know, money that could be going out soon to a lot of New Jersey residents, homeowners and renters because the anchor program that the state runs as a really a housing affordability program does have a component for renters.

The income limit is $150,000 in annual salary or income.

So there is a big group of renters who benefit from the anchor program.

The income limit is higher for homeowners.

So it's $250,000.

And while While the first batch of payments is about to go out from the state to a whole bunch of homeowners and renters, there's also still time to apply.

So if you're just coming up to speed on this today, the application deadline is November 2nd.

So you can check your income, check your residency and see if you meet the eligibility standards for these programs.

And for Anchor specifically, you know, you have until November 2nd to apply.

I know the state streamlined the process a bit so that folks get their refund a bit easier.

Can you tell us the process this year?

Sure.

There's there's really two different ways.

And so for many people, including those who've been eligible for anchor benefits in the past, you no longer have to go through the cumbersome process of filling out an application and sending it to the state or doing it online.

The state is automatically enrolling about a million people for anchor benefits.

And those are the ones who will begin to start receiving their benefits, assuming everything stayed the same.

So that's a big group of people, again, homeowners and renters.

Now, if you're in this group, you would have received what they call a confirmation letter confirming your eligibility and that they did an automatic application for you.

The one caveat is if you saw anything on that letter that needs to be changed.

So for example, you may have a different bank account this year and you want that benefit to go to a new bank account, you have to update your information by the state.

And the deadline for doing that is September 15th.

So you have to get on that right away.

If there's a stack of mail sitting to the side and you think you're eligible for Anchor, it's very important that you take a look if any of your information changed.

Say you have a different name this year, you got married or a different address.

Now for another group of people, seniors, there is a streamlined application because seniors are eligible for a number of different tax relief programs in New Jersey.

Anchor is one of them, Senior Freeze is another, Stay NJ is yet another.

And that's an application that's called a PAS-1.

The deadline to apply is also November 2nd.

But if you're a senior, again, it's important that you, if you think you're eligible for any of these programs to get that application in.

That's not one that the state does automatically for any senior or disabled homeowner.

That's one that has to be filled out annually by the actual applicant.

Yeah, great information.

I want to switch gears and talk about a story about.

It's a phenomenon term, but I know it's not.

sports betting.

Bracket c is an issue that can, tha of people when we're in a which we are in right now unfortunately.

And so what happens is, as prices rise, we often see our wages rise, we get, if we're lucky, we get wage increases at work.

And so you begin to earn more money, but because prices are rising, you're really no better off financially.

And in fact, in recent months, you've been worse off because the price increases have been outpacing the rate of wage increases.

So our pay goes up, but not as high as prices are going up.

Unfortunately, when we are in New Jersey, which is a state that has fixed or static income tax brackets.

So that's the bracket part of bracket creep.

What happens is your wages go up so much that they can push you into a new tax bracket.

The state is taxing you as if you're better off financially.

New Jersey is one of the states that we don't have a flat tax in New Jersey.

We're like the federal government, where as you make more money, you get taxed at a higher rate.

The federal government, by contrast, indexes the tax rates to annual inflation.

This prevents bracket creep from occurring at the federal level.

But in New Jersey, because the tax brackets are static, again, bracket creep occurs when the state is taxing you at a higher rate because it thinks you're better off financially.

You're doing better.

You're making more money, of course.

However, because of that inflation and the price increases, you're actually not better off financially.

You're actually not deserving higher taxes because you're falling behind potentially due to those increased prices.

Okay, so some less good news there for New Jerseyans, but with just a few minutes left I want to talk about the Transportation Trust Fund because again you recently wrote about this and we just saw an infusion of funds into that fund.

What can you tell us about what's happening there?

Yeah, and what's happened is they're freeing up some cash by doing a refinancing.

The people who manage the Transportation Trust Fund, which we should note is separate from the state budget, and its primary source of revenue is the state gas tax.

So gas prices are pretty much on everybody's mind these days.

The tax that New Jersey levies on a gallon of gasoline, and also diesel by the way, feeds into what's called the Transportation Trust Fund, and this pays for road, bridge, and rail improvements throughout the state.

And I think anybody who uses our transportation network knows that there's a lot of need out there.

And so what they're doing through SMART financial management is refinancing some of the Transportation Trust Fund's debt.

The Transportation Trust Fund is allowed to issue bonds and that's for projects that can't be paid for in a single year because some of these are really big long-term infrastructure improvements.

Just 30 seconds left, John.

So tell us how much they were able to restructure and gain here.

Yeah, it's about a hundred million dollars depending on how you do the math.

And it's like somebody refinancing their mortgage.

They're not extending any life of a loan, but they're freeing up cash by taking advantage of the interest rate environment.

And what that means is it eases pressure on those of us who pay the gas tax.

But to be clear, when they free up some of these funds, as you said, it's separate from the general fund because these are constitutionally dedicated funds have to go back in to transportation infrastructure projects.

Yes?

Absolutely correct.

And it's one of the situations where there is no raid of the funds.

It literally goes to the purpose it's intended for in this case.

We got to leave it there.

But John Wrightmire, budget and finance writer, always great to talk to you.

Thank you.

Same here.

You're welcome.

Under the Dome is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

Tonight, we're taking a look at some of the major changes coming to New Jersey's Medicaid program, known as New Jersey Family Care, with new federal rules that are now just weeks away from affecting who can qualify for the coverage and who can't.

The changes could impact hundreds of thousands of residents, with some being moved out of the system while others will face new requirements to keep it.

We turn to Lilo Stainton, she's a senior writer at New Jersey Monitor, for more on who's at risk and what families should be doing to prepare.

Lilo, good to see you.

Thanks for coming on.

I want to talk to you about a couple of important dates that are on the horizon and some significant changes that are coming from the federal level, from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to New Jersey Family Care and Medicaid that will change who qualifies for it and who doesn't.

Can you tell us what folks should expect when those dates hit and what's going to happen?

Sure, yeah, we've got a couple big things coming up and the sort of the most important message to anyone who gets Medicaid or family care in New Jersey is watch your mailbox.

You will be getting really important information from the State Department of Human Services.

And the first important deadline is October 1st, and that impacts as many as 20 or 25,000 non-citizen immigrants to this country, to New Jersey.

And starting on October 1st, a large group of non-citizens will no longer qualify for Medicaid under pretty much any circumstances.

You can still qualify if you're a child, if you're pregnant, if you're a Haitian or certain other entrants, but refugees, humanitarian parolees, victims of trafficking and domestic violence, and several other groups are no longer going to qualify.

It's really confusing.

Make sure you check with your health care plan or the Department of Human Services on their website to make sure you find out what category you're in.

But big group will no longer qualify.

And then for as many as like 500,000, 550,000 New Jersey residents, the big deadline is coming on January 1st.

And that's when the work requirements are going to go into place.

Now, we know that most people who get family care already work, but come January 1st, you're going to have to prove it.

And what that means is you're going to have to submit some kind of paperwork to prove that you're working or volunteering or in school or caring for a loved one at least 20 hours a week every month and to still qualify for your benefits.

And there is a group of people that will be exempt if you are a victim -- I'm sorry, if you are considered medically frail, and that's a definition that's sort of a little bit still in flux, but it could be like a disability that impairs your ability to work or a chronic condition that impairs your ability to work.

But basically, a medical condition that means you can't work, you can be exempt from the work requirements, but you'll need a doctor to sign off on that.

So bottom line, it's a lot of changes.

Watch your mailbox, 'cause changes are happening and it's all gonna happen really fast too.

- What, if anything, Lilo, should families do to plan for that potential gap in coverage?

Are there alternatives?

- Yeah, I mean, there are, I know groups, there are a lot of groups, sort of trusted community groups that are working on this, right?

Citizen Action is one, New Jersey Policy Perspective, Immigrant Justice Alliance, Make the Road New Jersey, I'm just naming a handful, right?

They're doing work and some of them are saying for certain immigrants there's a window where you might be able to buy into the Affordable Care Act Obamacare plan.

They're also compiling information to make sure that the government's goal here or I should say the state government's goal, the federal government's goal is to shrink the cost of the program and so to make it less costly that means kicking people off.

So their goal is to kick people off.

The state government, according to the Sherrill administration, has a very different goal.

Their goal is to keep as many people on as possible.

So they're going to work with people to try to get the paperwork they need to show that they're still eligible.

That's what these groups are doing too.

So if you have questions, talk to someone you know and trust who works in the community, who is working on Medicaid or family care, and they can help you navigate this.

There's also a list of federally qualified health centers, places where you can get lower cost care.

It doesn't matter if you have insurance.

There's also five free, totally free clinics, where they take no information and no payment information.

So you don't need to prove a residence, but you don't need to give any kind of immigrant status information to them at all.

And those are free, but they're only in five counties.

So, you know, there are limited options.

And I would say everybody in sort of the healthcare world is bracing for these changes because they know it's going to be huge on so many levels.

Yeah, certainly is.

Those deadlines are ones to watch.

Let me just switch gears quickly, Lilo, because you had a piece you published today in New Jersey Monitor about a rare condition known as PANS or Panda.

It's a sudden acute neuropsychiatric syndrome that children are diagnosed with often after they get what, strep throat, a really severe case of strep throat?

I mean, strep or it could be, it could be exposure to the flu.

I interviewed one family whose child experienced this after there was like a stomach bug going around her class.

And how often does that happen every year?

You know?

But what happens is some kind of a toxin or infection will spark a reaction that becomes what looks like a psychotic incident.

So, and it almost always, this is children who have been like really calm and problem free and sort of strivers and achievers their whole lives.

And suddenly one day they're kicking walls, banging their heads into walls, cursing at their parents, just totally out of character.

And it can take months, years to get a diagnosis because there's an underlying link to this sort of infection or toxin.

And treatment can be really easy.

It can be as easy as for some as antibiotics and like anti-inflammatory meds, like almost over-the-counter stuff.

Some it's way more complicated and more costly, but just getting a diagnosis is really hard.

Yeah.

Yeah.

It's such an important topic and one that doesn't get talked about a lot and one that I personally know of parents whose children have been diagnosed with it.

And obviously the need for health care insurers to provide that coverage is something that you are looking at in the last 20 seconds that we have.

What's the debate there?

Yeah, I mean, the debate is that there's not, there is still some question over the science around the treatments.

I mean, parents will tell you they work, but sort of the science or the documenting of that science hasn't caught up.

So for insurance companies, there's a little bit of a gray area and these are, can be really costly treatments.

You know, there are now 17 states that have passed laws requiring this.

There's a bill in New Jersey to do the same, but it hasn't moved and these families would really like to see some action on that.

All right.

Lilo Staten is a healthcare and senior reporter at New Jersey Monitor.

Great work as always, Lilo.

Thanks for coming on to give us that important information.

We'll see you soon.

-Thank you, Briana.

-Another New Jersey corporate headquarters is heading out of state.

The retailer Burlington Stores is relocating to Philadelphia after more than 50 years here.

The company says the move is part of a $370 million investment that also came with a $30 million incentive from Pennsylvania.

Burlington officials insist the decision isn't a reflection of New Jersey's business climate, but industry leaders say it underscores a growing competitiveness problem.

I recently asked Michelle Sikirka about that.

She's the president and CEO of the New Jersey Business and Industry Association.

Michelle, it's good to see you.

And I really want to get your insight here, rolling off of this latest news that Burlington, whose namesake is here in New Jersey, it's been here for 50 years, is moving across the river to Philadelphia.

But the company says it's not a reflection of the business climate here in New Jersey.

I wonder how you view it.

Well, considering that they are another company in a stream of companies over the last few months to announce their departure at a time when we are ranked 50th in business climate, have the highest corporate business taxes in the nation, the strongest regulations and mandates, it's impossible.

It's impossible to believe that those things do not have an impact on all these companies that are choosing to either overtly leave the state or say they are no longer going to grow here?

I mean, you're referencing, of course, a string of high profile places, Samsung, Garishheimer, the glass company, Mars Wrigley, of course, yes.

At what point?

I mean, if we're saying that this is a trend, at what point does do state policy, lawmakers, the governor's office, at what point do they need to confront this?

Because we had the Department of Labor commissioner on recently, and he said, you know, in the last year, we've grown employers here from 290,000 to 297,000.

We are expanding footprints.

We're not shrinking them.

How do they confront those two realities?

Well, look, we really need to look at the numbers, you know, as you know, at NJBIA, we are all about data and research.

We don't just, you know, pontificate, make things up.

We're always looking at those numbers.

And we know that a lot of those jobs that are being created are entrepreneurial jobs.

There are there one man, one woman type shops that have been growing here in the state of New Jersey.

And we commend that and we welcome that questionnaire tale on all those entrepreneurs that the codification of the ABC test potentially is a huge challenge to them in New Jersey.

So we should be paying attention to that, right?

But what should policymakers be doing?

We've been saying this for months, if not years, let's send some pro business messaging.

Let's make some commitments for what businesses can see coming down the pike and then let's give them predictability and reliability.

I'm going to give you one example.

The corporate transit fee, which is a 2.5% additional tax on our largest job creators in the state of New Jersey, is set to sunset in two years.

Governor should come out now with the support of the legislature sitting right next to her saying that we commit to sunsetting that tax which makes New Jersey an outlier on corporate business taxes two years from now and we have a strategy and a plan in order to ensure that we can fund that somewhere else.

That's just one example.

We've got myriad of examples of how we can send strong pro-business messages right now.

Yeah.

I mean, we have though a highly educated workforce.

I mean, this is something that I hear often and I know you do too, Michelle.

We have a highly educated workforce.

We have our proximity to New York City, to Philadelphia.

We have major universities.

We have all of these things.

Why is that not enough for companies to say, hey, it's worth doing business here, but also growing business here, even if the costs are a bit more?

Why isn't that enough?

Well, at number one, we do have the best assets.

The challenge here in the state of New Jersey is rather than mine those assets and take advantage of them in positive ways, we take advantage of them in negative ways, such as putting more mandates on them, putting more costs on them.

And you said the words, costs.

It's affordability.

We have to look at the definition of business affordability.

Every new mandate, every new assessment, every time there's a delay in a license, a permit, that is dollars, dollars, and dollars.

So now what we see is we have these great assets, but guess what?

Other states are catching up to us, and they're catching up fast.

Yes, we have the best highly skilled workforce here, but guess what?

All those other states have amped up their games with talent strategies that they've been executing on for the past few years.

So no longer is there a concern if you're going to go down to North Carolina that you're not going to have the workforce that you need there because they've upped their game on talent strategy.

The number one business climate state in the nation, which was Ohio announced by CNBC, they had a very intentional strategy to make sure that they were going to be the state of choice for business and that led with a talent strategy and a workforce strategy to up their game which included great partnerships with our higher ed institutions number one and number two they made a commitment to the business community that the rules of engagement on day one when you come here or you grow here will be the same in year two three and five we don't have that here we change the rules of engagement we just have three new taxes on business as a result of this last budget when the governor ran on a on a no new tax agenda now then she clarified and said well no new taxes on individuals but guess what businesses can't have any new assessments or taxes we continue to change the rules of engagement therefore they have no predictability reliability therefore they cannot invest big dollars to grow here.

I mean in the isolated case of Burlington anyway, Pennsylvania said we're offering this glossy package right 30 million dollars.

At what point do we have to either say these states are willing to pay to win and is that at an overall disadvantage which there's you know research showing that it's in some cases it's a race to the bottom or to up the ante like you're saying in some of these other facets.

So incentives are only one tool in the toolkit and I want to use for example right here Samsung and M&M Mars both of them had New Jersey incentive packages Samsung three years ago when they built their corporate headquarters up in Bergen County right M&M Mars same things for them to move into Newark they're basically saying that doesn't matter anymore that we got those incentives we're leaving anyway and they're willing to leave that money on the table so incentives are only one tool in the toolkit look when when the Burlington CEO stood next to the mayor of Philadelphia and the governor of Pennsylvania and he said we're so excited for the energy here in Philadelphia we're so excited for you know the pro-business atmosphere here in Pennsylvania you know there's something going on and we see it every day and guess what cost has a lot to do with that I just mentioned that corporate transit fee which is part of our corporate business tax rate we are 11.5% at the exact same time that Pennsylvania is driving down their corporate business tax to almost 5% over five years with guardrails.

Companies are paying attention.

J&J, they chose not to grow here in New Jersey, right?

They're growing across the river in Pennsylvania as well as down south as well.

We got to pay attention to these things.

We need pro-business messaging and we need it and not just messaging, but action to follow.

- Michelle Sikirka with the NJBIA.

Thank you so much for your time.

- As always, thanks so much, Briana.

- That's gonna do it for us tonight.

I'm Briana Vannozzi.

For the entire NJ Spotlight News team, thanks for being with us.

We'll see you right back here tomorrow.

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