VITALE: GOVERNOR CORZINE’S HEALTH CARE REFORMS LEAD THE NATION FOR CHILDREN & WORKING PARENTS

(WOODBRIDGE) – Senator Joseph Vitale today joined Diana Dydak, a widowed Mother of two living with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, at her Port Reading home along with other Middlesex County residents to recognize Governor Corzine for his leadership in distinguishing New Jersey as a national leader in health care reform.
 
 “With Jon Corzine at the helm, New Jersey has come a long way in increasing the number of residents who have access to quality and affordable health care,” said Vitale (D-Middlesex).  “Even in the worst economic times in over 75 years, Governor Corzine has made the right moral decision to protect and aid our children and working families,” Vitale added.

Vitale, Chairman of the Senate Health, Human Services & Senior Citizens Committee and tireless advocate of the plight of the uninsured, hailed Governor Corzine for his leadership and partnership with the Legislature that has led to a growing success story.  “New Jersey’s most recent landmark reform measures have made a measurable difference in the lives of tens of thousands of our fellow citizens.  And the work continues,” Vitale said.

Elements of reform legislation signed into law or implemented by Governor Corzine and his Administration include:

• The implementation of a FamilyCare “buy-In” program for children whose family income exceeds our SCHIP cap of 350% FPL.  This program was implemented with Governor Corzine’s effective negotiating with two health plans who agreed to offer an excellent benefit design at a very low price.  Known now as FamilyCare Advantage, it is important to note that this program does not use any Federal or State tax dollars

• A “Kids First” policy that requires all children to be enrolled in either a free or very low-cost health insurance program.  The success of implementing this policy included Governor Corzine’s aggressive efforts to challenge the Bush administration in order to continue covering children up to 350% of the Federal Poverty Level

• New Jersey expanded FamilyCare and continues to offer low-cost health insurance to working parents

• The Department of Treasury worked to include a check off on the 2008 State Income Tax Return, which sought information from filers regarding the health insurance status of household dependants.  This provision enabled NJ to be the first state in the nation to utilize an “Express Enrollment” process, thereby reaching tens of thousands of families who may otherwise go uninsured

• The Department of Human Services designed and implemented a cost-effective and thorough enrollment outreach program, including a collaboration with the Department of Education to identify uninsured school age children, which was just implemented at the beginning of this school year

 

• Instituted a number of reforms to our individual and small employer markets to make those policies more affordable, while also dedicating a larger percentage of collected premiums to the actual provision of care.

Additional measures that will ensure a safer environment for New Jerseyans in our state’s hospitals requires the public reporting of serious medical errors by facility.  This new measure, recently signed into law by Governor Corzine will give the public valuable information when choosing a hospital for their care.  “Using the internet we can learn more about the used car we consider purchasing than we can learn about the performance of the hospital we plan to utilize for routine and serious surgical procedures.  Governor Corzine was a leader in creating this transparency,” Vitale said.

This Monday, Governor Corzine also announced that the number of uninsured New Jersey residents has dropped by more than 11 percent.  New Jersey now has the second largest reduction in the number of uninsured residents in the nation.  In comparison, across the country the number of Americans without health insurance has grown by 1.5 percent.
“Governor Corzine teamed with Democrats in the Legislature to protect Charity Care so that people like Diana who lack proper health insurance get the treatment they need, when they need it without falling through the cracks,” said Vitale.   “We need the leadership of Jon Corzine, who has the courage to stand up and fight for the health care needs of working New Jersey families.”

Vitale introduced Diana Dydak, who was diagnosed with a form of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma several years ago. The Senator met her during her fight to get treatment during her battle against cancer.  Vitale said Dydak is set to begin the process of a stem cell transplant and credited Governor Corzine’s commitment to stem cell research and funding for charity care as making a significant difference in the level of treatment Dydak has been able to receive.  Without stem cell research, charity care and NJ Family Care, the Dydak family would have faced life threatening consequences.

Vitale drew a stark comparison to Republican gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie’s lack of a comprehensive or workable health care policy agenda.  “Sadly, Chris Christie’s only public policy recommendation is so far to the right, that many Republicans in Congress would never embrace it,” Vitale said.

“In this campaign where the future of our health care delivery system and the life saving services it provides is on the line, it is altogether appropriate to draw a contrast in the policy recommendations of Chris Christie and the record of Governor Corzine.  New Jersey residents need and deserve to know the facts,” said Vitale.

                The Senator criticized Christie for his proposal to permit out-of-state insurance companies to sell health insurance policies in our state that lack the necessary consumer protections that New Jersey requires.  Vitale said Christie’s plan would be tantamount to cutting coverage, as experts including the director of Rutgers University Center for State Health Policy, Joel Cantor, have said that “mandate-free” policies would effectively be a “repeal of the mandates.” [Christie for Governor Website, http://christiefornj.com/issues/affordable-health-insurance.html].

Vitale also questioned why Chris Christie would put the health of New Jerseyans at risk with his commitment to reject more than $1 billion in health care funding from the Obama administration.