 April 2007
ACTION ITEMS
The Nursing Shortage: Addressing the health care workforce shortage is a key goal of the Platform Health Care Initiative. To assist with identifying solutions to this growing problem the Chamber is partnering with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) to bring the employer community to the table to increase awareness and to brainstorm remedies. RWJF and the Chamber will host a lunch program in June centered around the issue and the impact on the healthcare delivery system. Look for additional information and an agenda in the next update.
Computer Physician Order Entry: The Initiative continues to move forward with the pilot program for physicians interested in obtaining electronic order entry systems for prescriptions. In partnership with the HealthCare Quality Institute, CureMD will be demonstrating their software to the Academy of Family Physicians this month. The goal is to identify 20 physicians from the Academy and from the New Jersey Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology Society interested in participating in the pilot project, which will start in the fall.
Incentives for E-Health Records: Supporting the creation of incentives that reward quality is a goal of the Health Care Initiative. U.S. Representative Patrick Kennedy recently introduced legislation that will provide financial incentives for physicians who encourage their patients to use electronic medical records.
ITEMS OF INTEREST
Cover The Uninsured Week: This week marks the fifth anniversary for Cover the Uninsured Week, a project of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that brings together groups calling for solutions to the problem of nearly 45 million Americans living without health insurance. This year's statistics show a continuation in the decline of employers who can afford health insurance coverage for their employees. This is especially true for those with nine or fewer employees - Visit http://covertheuninsured.org/ to learn more about the uninsured and what your business can do to help.
Charity Care in New Jersey: The issue of Charity Care grabbed the headlines last week thanks to the release of a State Commission of Investigation report documenting the loss of tens of millions of dollars every year through waste, fraud and lack of oversight. The report, which is available at http://www.state.nj.us/sci/newindex.shtm, documents not only problems with the current system but proposes "a number of recommendations for systemic reform designed to enable the Charity Care program to function effectively and as its framers intended." And if waste, fraud, and abuse in the Charity Care program were not enough cause for concern, there is a human element to this issue. Last month, the Kaiser Institute reported that uninsured children admitted to hospitals nationwide are twice as likely to die as insured children. Visit here for the full report.
Budget Hearings: Health and Senior Services Commissioner Fred Jacobs testified before the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee on April 23 about his department and the various programs they provide. The Commissioner touched briefly on a number of issues important to the Platform Health Care Initiative, including the financial condition of our hospitals, charity care, and health care quality. Copies of the testimony given by the Commissioner are currently not available electronically. If you are interested in seeing his testimony please send me an email with your fax number and I will fax it to you.
The Office of Legislative Services Analysis of the Department of Health and Senior Services budget can be found at here.
World Health Care Congress: The 2007 World Health Care Congress began on Sunday, April 22 in Washington with a diverse and high-ranking group of providers, government officials and employers all engaged in the pursuit of lower costs and increased coverage. If you could not attend the event but want to hear one of the speeches, you can download podcasts by visiting http://www.worldcongress.com/whcc/
Jim Leonard
Vice President , Government Relations
New Jersey Chamber of Commerce
216 West State Street
Trenton, NJ 08608
Phone: (609)989-7888 Ext. 118
Fax: (609)989-9696
Jim.Leonard@njchamber.com
|
