Media Release

For Immediate Release Contact Phone
March 17, 2008 Ev Liebman 856-966-3091
  Eve Weissman 856-966-3091 ext. 205

New Jersey Citizen Action's Statement on State Senator Joseph Vitale's Universal Health Care Proposal

State's Largest Consumer Watchdog Cautions Against Mandating Health Insurance that Is Not Affordable and Shifting Entire Responsibility for the Cost of Coverage onto Consumers & Taxpayers

Statement of Phyllis Salowe-Kaye, Executive Director

Newark, NJ — New Jersey Citizen Action applauds Senator Vitale (D-Middlesex), Senator Singer (R-Ocean), Assemblymen Cohen (D- Union) and Greenwald (D-Camden) for their commitment to moving our state toward universal health care coverage for all New Jerseyans. Their introduction today of proposed legislation that seeks to expand NJ's FamilyCare program, mandate the purchase of health insurance for NJ's children and to implement market reforms that seek to make the private insurance market more affordable for consumers and businesses sets the stage for what we are sure will be a critical debate involving many health care system stakeholders – consumers, businesses, providers, insurers and our state government.

In the coming days and weeks New Jersey Citizen Action and the NJ Citizen Action Education Fund, with assistance from our state and national partners, including Community Catalyst and NJ Appleseed, will be analyzing and evaluating Senator Vitale's proposal and its impact on health care consumers. Our analysis and recommendations will be made available to policy makers, opinion leaders and our 100-plus member coalition and 60,000 family members.

Consumers should not be forced, under penalty of law, to buy insurance, either from the government or a private insurer like Horizon BlueCross/Blue Shield of NJ that is not affordable. Citizen Action's analysis will be particularly focused on whether or not the legislation establishes affordable insurance premiums within the context of the high cost of living in the Garden State and whether or not it incorporates sufficient cost-containment strategies to hold down costs into the future.

While recent polling has demonstrated the public's overwhelming concern about health care, rising costs and willingness to pay increased taxes for meaningful solutions, of grave concern is the proposal's underlying policy that seeks to shift the cost of coverage away from a shared responsibility between employers and employees. Senator Vitale's proposal would have insurance costs borne solely by consumers and taxpayers. The health care crisis affects everyone – including consumers, employers, insurers, health care providers and the state and federal governments – and for any solution to work it must include all stakeholders equitably sharing the costs and benefits.

It is critical for the voice of New Jersey's consumers to be heard in this debate. We look forward to working with Senator Vitale and others to enact a plan that includes:

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New Jersey Citizen Action is the state's largest independent citizen watchdog coalition representing over 100 affiliated organizations including labor, tenant, senior, religious, environmental, and community and 60,000 family members.
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