Revises criteria for payment of charity care to certain hospitals.

This bill revises New Jersey's payment system for hospitals providing charity care (care for patients who cannot pay). It specifically changes the reimbursement formula for hospitals located in the 10 municipalities with the lowest median household income (and at least 20,000 residents), expanding eligibility to include the top two hospitals in each municipality (instead of just the top one) for the highest reimbursement rate of 96% of documented charity care costs. The bill also sets a minimum reimbursement floor of 43% for any hospital and requires the state to maintain overall charity care subsidies at 75% of Medicaid-priced costs, adjusted for federal Medicare payments. Additionally, hospitals cannot receive less under the new formula than they did in fiscal year 2004.