VITALE BILL TO SET GROUNDWORK FOR AFFORDABLE CARE FOR ALL APPROVED IN SENATE

TRENTON – Senator Joseph F. Vitale, D-Middlesex, the Chair of the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee and author of a plan to make health care affordable for all New Jersey residents, issued the following statement today after the Senate unanimously approved the first phase of his plan:

“Tonight in New Jersey, a quarter million kids will go to sleep without the protection offered by even basic health insurance. These are kids who have to wait until they’re very seriously ill or hurt before they can go to the hospital to have access to care. As a moral society, we cannot turn our backs on the plight of these kids, who are falling through the gaps in New Jersey’s health care safety net.

VITALE STATEMENT ON HEALTH CARE REFORM PLAN APPROVAL BY BUDGET PANEL

TRENTON – Senator Joseph F. Vitale, D-Middlesex, the author of S-1557 – legislation which would expand FamilyCare for more low-income parents, ensure affordable health care for all New Jersey children, and make various reforms to the individual and small business health insurance markets – issued the following statement after the bill was unanimously approved by the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee today:

“I applaud Governor Corzine and my legislative colleagues for having the foresight to include a much-needed health care system overhaul in plans for the FY 2009 Budget. While I recognize that we’ve had to make some difficult choices about the priorities of the State in crafting this year’s spending plan, I’m thankful that New Jersey’s leaders have shown the courage to try to fix a health care system which is broken and desperately in need of repair.

VITALE FAMILY CARE EXPANSION BILL APPROVED IN COMMITTEE

Measure Would Set Stage for Affordable Health Care for All New Jersey Residents

TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senator Joseph F. Vitale which would expand eligibility and outreach of New Jersey FamilyCare in order to set the stage for affordable health care for all New Jersey residents was unanimously approved by the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee today.

“New Jersey is in the midst of a health care crisis, and the skyrocketing cost of care is driving more residents to neglect their health in order to meet other basic human needs,” said Senator Vitale, D-Middlesex, and Chair of the Senate Health Committee. “No one should have to choose between food, shelter and health care, particularly when nearly six hundred people die every year because they’re uninsured. We make a substantial investment in health care for the uninsured already, and we need to seek a better, more efficient and more effective model to provide preemptive care to those in need.”

PREVIEW - SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE TO CONSIDER EXPANDED FAMILYCARE, RATIONAL HEALTH CARE RESOURCES BILLS ON THURSDAY

TRENTON – At a hearing on Thursday, May 15 in the Statehouse Annex, the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee will consider legislation sponsored by Committee Chair, Senator Joseph F. Vitale, to expand NJ FamilyCare in an effort to set the stage for accessible, affordable health care coverage for all New Jerseyans.

“This is an important first step in establishing a better model for New Jersey to meet its obligation to the uninsured,” said Senator Vitale, D-Middlesex. “Under the current charity care funding model, we aren’t making the most of our State’s limited health care dollars. We’re encouraging bad health care practices, by sending the message that uninsured New Jerseyans need to wait until their illness or injury is so severe that they have to go to the emergency room for care. This is a broken and dysfunctional system, and it’s time for a health care plan that works.”

SENATOR VITALE STATEMENT ON BUDGET HEARING ON DEPT. OF HEALTH

TRENTON – Senator Joseph F. Vitale, D-Middlesex, a member of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee and author of a health care reform plan to ensure affordable health care for all New Jersey residents, issued the following statement regarding today’s hearing on the FY 2009 Budget of the State Department of Health and Senior Services:

VITALE UNVEILS PLAN FOR HEALTH CARE COVERAGE FOR ALL NEW JERSEY

TRENTON –Senator Joseph F. Vitale, a longtime advocate for affordable and accessible health care coverage, today announced an ambitious and transformational health care reform package aimed at covering all New Jersey residents by the year 2011.