by KYW's Kim Glovas

About 2,000 hospital workers, patients, and state residents gathered at the New Jersey state capitol building on Monday to protest governor Jon Corzine's plan to cut charity care payments and Medicaid in the next budget.

Governor Corzine is proposing a $300-million cut in health care in his latest budget proposal, to help address the state's financial problems. That decision does not sit well with Virtua Health System president Richard Miller:

"You are here today to send a message, a message that New Jersey need to protect its most vulnerable people in the state, and that includes the 1.3 million who don't have health insurance."

Half of New Jersey's 76 hospitals failed to make a profit last year, and a hospital lobbying group in the state says these cuts will force some of them to close, making it harder for many residents to find health care.