Nearly 2,000 nurses at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital who are on strike have been cut off from their health care benefits.

The 1,700 nurses are now required to enroll in COBRA coverage, which allows them to continue benefits for a limited time for anywhere from $700 to $2,500 per month.

"Robert Wood Johnson management's decision to discontinue nurses' health insurance was cruel and unnecessary, even while their unfair labor practices and refusal to negotiate in good faith unnecessarily prolong the labor dispute,” a spokesperson for USW Local 4-200, the union representing the nurses, wrote in a statement. “We urge management to join us at the bargaining table so that together we can address urgent concerns, including adequate staffing to match the complexity of care we require."

A spokesperson for the hospital stated, “We continue to urge union leadership to consider the significant potential hardships the ongoing strike is having on our RWJUH nurses and their families if negotiations continue to be unproductive.”