NEW YORK, NY June 11, 2007 —New Jersey lawmakers expect to have a final budget by June 21st, well ahead of the July 1st deadline. WNYC'S Bob Hennelly has more.

Still unresolved is how much the state should budget to compensate New Jersey hospitals for charity healthcare. The hospitals contend the state owes them billions of dollars for taking care of the indigent and the uninsured.

The appropriation process was made more complicated when earlier this year - a report showed that the state and its hospitals were failing to keep track of the money spent on charity care, with millions of dollars going to patients who didn’t need the money. Since the early 90s, 21 hospitals have closed and 2 more are currently slated to shut their doors. Currently, half of the state’s acute care hospitals operate in the red.

Governor Corzine’s commission on rationalizing healthcare resources is evaluating the state’s entire healthcare delivery system. For WNYC, I’m Bob Hennelly.