How will sale of Saint Michael’s Hospital transform healthcare in Newark?

Posted on by Myles Zhang

Written by Andrew Kitchenman

The answer lies with the Christie administration and which of several competing options it decides to pursue

Governor Chris Christie’s administration has put off for nearly three years deciding what it should do about the future of healthcare in Newark. But the scheduled sale of the bankrupt Saint Michael’s Medical Center, one of five Newark hospitals, should force a decision.

The outcome of the sale will likely help shape the quality of healthcare that Newark residents receive, according to industry attorneys and analysts. It could also affect the financial stability of all of the city’s hospitals.

State involvement in hospital bankruptcies normally is limited to issues related to operating licenses. But not in this case, for three reasons:

First, the New Jersey Health Care Facilities Financing Authority, which is chaired by Acting Commissioner of Health Cathleen Bennett, issued tax-exempt bonds for Saint Michael’s that currently total roughly $230 million.

Second, the state also owns another troubled Newark facility — University Hospital, which is facing millions of dollars in annual operating losses for the foreseeable future.

Third, if the state allows the sale of Saint Michael’s it should get a short-term financial shot in the arm. But if were to decide to take over the facility, it could realize a greater payback over a longer period.

Continue reading How will sale of Saint Michael’s Hospital transform healthcare in Newark?

Voting Rights Groups Call for Election Day Registration

Posted on by Myles Zhang

Plaintiffs

Rutgers Constitutional Rights Clinic, ACLU-NJ, and New Jersey Appleseed File Appellate Brief Arguing State Cannot Justify 21-Day Registration Blackout Contact: Deborah Howlett, ACLU-NJ Communications Director, 973-854-1728 Allison Peltzman, ACLU-NJ Senior Communications Specialist, 973-854-1711 Professor Frank Askin, Rutgers School of Law-Newark, 973-353-3239 Renee Steinhagen, New Jersey Appleseed, 973-735-0523

Continue reading Voting Rights Groups Call for Election Day Registration

Surprise Medical Bills: What they are and how to stop them

Posted on by Myles Zhang

New Jersey’s leading consumer health coalition held a press conference today announcing the release of a new report, Surprise Medical Bills: what they are and how to stop them . The report examines the consequences and costs of these bills on New Jersey health care consumers and details the remedies necessary to fix the problem. and contains more than a dozen testimonials from consumers who have fallen victim to these out-of-network bills.

Continue reading Surprise Medical Bills: What they are and how to stop them

As investors buy struggling hospitals, big change comes to New Jersey health care

Posted on by Myles Zhang

Re-post from NorthJersey.com | Written by Lindy Washburn

Bayonne Medical Center wasn’t just bragging about efficiency when it posted a big digital clock on a highway billboard a few years ago to show the real-time waits in its emergency room. It wanted patients to come to its ER. Lots of patients.

It didn’t matter if the hospital was in the patient’s insurance network. On the contrary, to the businessmen who had recently purchased the medical center, those “out-of-network” patients held the key to reversing Bayonne’s fortunes.

These owners, who bought the hospital in bankruptcy, had found an unintended — and very profitable — consequence to a state regulation that was designed to protect patients with urgent medical needs. While the regulation required insurance companies to pay for emergency treatment at hospitals where their coverage wasn’t normally accepted, it did nothing to control the size of the bills the hospitals could submit to those insurers.

Read rest of article here and how this topic relates to NJ Appleseed’s work.

Hoboken Refuses to Recognize Public Petition

Posted on by Myles Zhang

Written by Cheryl Fallick

On appeal from Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Hudson County, Docket No. L-2375-11. Victor A. Afanador argued the cause for appellants/cross-respondents James Farina and City of Hoboken (Lite DePalma Greenberg, LLC, attorneys; Mr. Afanador, of counsel and on the briefs; Marissa L. Quigley, on the briefs).

Charles X. Gormally argued the cause for appellants/cross-respondents Mile Square Taxpayer Association 2009, Inc. and Gina DeNardo (Brach Eichler, L.L.C., attorneys; Mr. Gormally, of counsel and on the briefs; Sean A. Smith, on the briefs).

You can read the full ruling here

Posted on by Myles Zhang

Mary Pat GallagherNew Jersey Appleseed is happy to announce the launch of the Law and Public Policy Blog. We welcome former New Jersey Law Journal reporter Mary Pat Gallagher, who will be posting regularly on a variety of issues, with an emphasis on government transparency and accountability, access to affordable health care and housing and other issues pertinent to social and economic justice.

Scroll down to read all the articles Mary has written for us, along with articles by NJA’s authors and partners. Articles are ordered by date. Or, click on the green links below to browse articles by category.

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