Inganamort Demands Answers for $50 Million in Delinquencies as Insurance Rate Hikes Loom
July 20, 2026, 11:15 am | in
Inganamort Demands Answers for $50 Million in Delinquencies as Insurance Rate Hikes Loom
7/20/2026
TRENTON, N.J. – More than $50 million in delinquent premium payments are contributing to double-digit insurance rate increases for municipalities and school districts in their respective state health insurance plans.
Assemblyman Michael Inganamort requested the information from Treasury, which showed 35 local government bodies and 13 school districts owe anywhere from a few dollars to $11.8 million (City of Paterson) as of April 2026. Some outstanding debts date back to 2007 (Wildwoods Joint Construction Office).
Aon, the actuary contracted by the State Health Benefits Plan, announced premium increases of 22.3% for the local government plan (including 17.3% for active employees) and 21.1% for the educators plan (including 34.4% for active employees).
While actuaries point to the rise of expensive GLP-1 prescriptions for helping drive up costs, Inganamort said there is a more fundamental reason for out-of-control health care costs: poor plan governance.
“For a system already in a death spiral, $50 million in delinquencies is adding enormous downward pressure,” Inganamort (R-Morris) said. “Public employers with outstanding debts need to pay and Trenton needs to deliver on the major overhaul it’s been talking about for years.”
On July 10, Inganamort sent a letter to state Treasurer Aaron Binder, asking that the Treasury Department provide a plan and timeline for collecting the outstanding balances, and an accounting of how those delinquencies have “affected the financial condition of the [state health benefits plan] and whether their collection could mitigate future premium increases.”
“Municipalities, school districts, and other public employees that faithfully meet their obligations should not be placed in the position of subsidizing those that fail to do so,” Inganamort wrote. “Before imposing another round of significant premium increases, the State should aggressively pursue the collection of these overdue amounts and establish stronger safeguards to prevent future delinquencies.”
Current regulations allow the state to collect interest on late premium payments. Payments that are 31 days late are considered in default, and participants’ coverage is supposed to be terminated 60 days after that. According to the information Inganamort obtained, seven of 13 delinquent schools and 12 of 35 delinquent local governments had their coverage terminated; however, it’s unclear if their plans were canceled or they left the system.
“Ultimately, it’s the taxpayer who is on the hook for these costs,” Inganamort said. “Municipalities and school districts see their budgets unravel, the state does nothing to fix the problem, and taxpayers are expected to bail out the system year after year.”
Local governments delinquent as of April 2026
Paterson, $11.8 million
Newark, $11.4 million (terminated 2/1/2023)
Weehawken, $2.7 million
Lawnside, $536,009.90 (terminated 1/1/2018)
Spotswood, $519,695.08 (terminated 3/1/2026)
Lodi, $262,740.90
Hillsdale, $179,880.59
Prospect Park, $157,659.15
Jackson Township Fire District #4, $142,430.49
Essex County Improvement Authority, $99,975.72
Bridgeton City Housing Authority, $55,858.91
Blairstown, $50,981.76 (terminated 1/1/2026)
Carteret Borough Housing Authority, $46,300.30
Hamilton Township Fire District #5, $31,421.46 (terminated 1/1/2021)
Salem City Housing Authority, $24,257.99
Cranford, $21,253.90 (terminated 1/1/2026)
Mantua Township Municipal Utilities Authority, $19,648.86 (terminated 9/1/2025)
