VITALE TESTIMONY TO CONGRESS ON HEALTH CARE REFORM

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Joseph F. Vitale, D-Middlesex, and Chairman of the New Jersey Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee, today testified before the Congressional Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Health regarding national health care reform.

“I am proud of what we have accomplished in New Jersey,” said Senator Vitale. “We have been one of the most progressive states in offering expanded access to hundreds of thousands of children and working parents and we are currently well down the road toward comprehensive and transformational health reform.”

WEINBERG CALLS ON CONGRESS TO ENACT UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE

TRENTON – Senator Loretta Weinberg, D-Bergen, and Vice Chairwoman of the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee, issued the following statement on Committee approval by a vote of 6-2, with 2 abstentions of her resolution, a Senate Committee Substitute for SR-47 and SR-100, which would call on Congress and the President to enact H.R. 676, the “United States National Health Insurance Act” to establish universal health care in our country:

“Nationally, we spend more than $3 trillion each year on health care in the United States. Of that, approximately $660 billion – more than 20 times the State Budget for FY 2010 – is spent on corporate profits, health executives’ salaries, stock options, advertizing, marketing, and the cost of paperwork.

“It’s time for a change.

SENATOR RICE CALLS FOR NATIONAL UNIVERSAL HEALTH COVERAGE

TRENTON – Senator Ronald L. Rice, D-Essex, and a member of the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee and Chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus, issued the following statement today regarding the Committee’s approval, by a vote of 6-2, with 2 abstentions, of a Senate Committee Substitute for SR-47 and SR-100, his resolution calling on Congress to enact universal health insurance coverage in the United States:

“As folks around New Jersey are struggling to make ends meet, the high cost of health care is leaving many people without options. Particularly in urban areas, where unemployment is rampant, people are foregoing regular doctor’s check-ups and basic preventive care until they become so sick that they need to go to the emergency room.

VITALE RESOLUTION CALLING FOR NATIONAL UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE ADVANCES

TRENTON – Senator Joseph F. Vitale, D-Middlesex, and Chairman of the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee, issued the following statement today on the passage, by a vote of 6-2, with 2 abstentions, of his resolution, a Senate Committee Substitute for SR-47 and SR-100, calling for federal enactment of the “United States National Health Insurance Act,” a measure which would set up single-payer not-for-profit universal health care nationally:

“If you were to build the perfect health care system, ensuring that all people have access to appropriate, quality health coverage, our current national model wouldn’t even be under consideration. We waste far too much money on executive perks and needlessly complex administration, taking funds away form where they should be spent – on direct care.

WEINBERG MEASURE TO EXPAND PRIMARY CARE PROVIDER LOAN REDEMPTION PROGRAM APPROVED BY SENATE

TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senator Loretta Weinberg which would make changes to the “Primary Care Practitioner Loan Redemption Program” to expand the scope of the program to other primary care practitioners was unanimously approved by the Senate today.

“Today, the State Senate took an important step to ensure that medically-underserved communities in New Jersey will have access to quality care,” said Senator Weinberg, D-Bergen, the Vice Chair of the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee. “We need to make the most of existing State programs to provide incentives for health care professional to practice where they can do the most good. By expanding the primary care loan redemption program to include a wider variety of health care professionals, we are essentially saying that all New Jerseyans deserve high-quality care, no matter where they live.”

WEINBERG MEASURE TO EXPAND PRIMARY CARE PROVIDER LOAN REDEMPTION PROGRAM ADVANCES IN COMMITTEE

TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senator Loretta Weinberg which would make changes to the “Primary Care Practitioner Loan Redemption Program” to expand the scope of the program to other primary care practitioners was unanimously approved by the Senate Education Committee today.

“Quality primary care is the foundation of a strong health care system, and New Jersey must do everything it can to encourage the best and the brightest primary care providers to use their talents where they are needed most,” said Senator Weinberg, D-Bergen, the Vice Chair of the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee. “In the Garden State, we have a loan redemption program as an incentive to primary care doctors and dentists to practice in underserved areas, but we need to be more aggressive in our efforts. New Jersey cannot turn its back on citizens who need access to quality primary health care, and we must do more to bring doctors and other health care professionals to areas where they can do the most good.”

COHEN: FAMILY CARE EXPANSION HUGE STEP IN RIGHT DIRECTION

(PERTH AMBOY) - Immediately following Governor Jon S. Corzine's enactment of S-1557/A-2624 - legislation that significantly expands New Jersey's FamilyCare program and creates health coverage mandates for children - Assemblyman Neil M. Cohen (D-Union), a prime sponsor of the measure and a staunch advocate for health care reform, issued the following statement:

MEDIA ADVISORY - VITALE, LAWMAKERS TO ANNOUNCE UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE PLAN ON MONDAY

TRENTON – On Monday, March 17, Senator Joseph F. Vitale will announce his plan for a phased-in program to provide universal health care access for all New Jerseyans at a news conference in the Statehouse Annex.

VITALE RESPONSE TO STATE OF THE STATE ADDRESS

TRENTON – Senator Joseph F. Vitale, D-Middlesex, the Chair of the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee and one of New Jersey’s chief advocates of healthcare reform and universal care, today issued the following statement regarding Governor Corzine’s 2008 State of the State Address: