New Jersey
IN THE STATES: Health Reform Blossoms in Garden State
Even in a time of very tight state budgets, New Jersey's governor and legislature are taking major steps toward covering all of the state's residents, according to the Philadelpia Inquirer. This week the state Senate and Assembly both passed a measure that would require all children to be covered and would also cover some low-income parents. They provided $8.9 million in new funds to expand FamilyCare, (the state's health insurance program for low-income children and some adults), and moved to allow insurance premiums offered on the individual market to vary based on age to make plans more affordable for younger adults and help bring them into the health insurance pool.
IN THE STATES: New Jersey Unveils New Coverage Proposal
Can New Jersey afford health reform? Can New Jersey afford to do without health reform? We traveled north to the Garden State today as our very own Len Nichols, (see Len's presentation here) the AARP, the Rutgers Center for State Health Policy, Governor Jon Corzine, Representative Frank Pallone, and a host of state lawmakers addressed those two key questions.
Most of the buzz surrounded New Jersey State Senator Joseph Vitale, chairman of the health committee, who has introduced legislation that would seek to cover all New Jerseyans in two phases during a three-year-period:
