State of New Jersey Archives: on Health Care

Barbara Buono: Expand health care for low-income New Jerseyans

After months of pressure from Barbara and New Jersey health care advocates, Governor Christie finally backed down and agreed to expand Medicaid, offering hundreds of thousands of New Jerseyans the chance to get insurance.

Barbara Buono: NJ has lost half our pharmaceutical jobs

Buono's claim is largely correct. Buono's statement refers to New Jersey's percentage of pharma jobs nationwide lost since 1990. We reviewed Bureau of Labor Statistics data: New Jersey had 42,300 pharma jobs in December 1990. The nation had 210,400. So New Jersey's share was 20.1%. In December 2012 NJ had 28,100 pharma jobs, compared with 275,100 nationally. That means the state's share was 10.2%. So Buono is close to her claim that New Jersey lost "more than half" its pharma jobs.

Next, let's review where the lost New Jersey pharma jobs are going. NJ has lost life sciences jobs largely because the industry has a new business model for bio-based drug development; NJ specialized in chemical based drug development. We rate this claim Mostly True.

Barbara Buono: Keep collective bargaining for health benefits

Just as Gov. Christie celebrates how he approved pension and health benefits reform in June 2011, Buono says she stood up for her beliefs by opposing the landmark bill. Buono, who was Senate Majority Leader when the reform passed, broke with Senate President Stephen Sweeney when she voted against the legislation. That vote likely contributed to her ultimately losing the leadership post.

The 2011 reform mandates increases in health care contributions without employees' approval through negotiations, but the senator's wrong to suggest that bargaining right is eliminated forever. Once the increases are fully implemented after a four-year period, unions can resume negotiating those contribution levels.

Cory Booker: Control healthcare cost; no comment on single-payer

One of the most contentious parts was over health insurance.
• Oliver and Pallone said they support a government-run insurance system but that it can't get passed now.
• Holt told them that their approach is "another way of saying we can only do things that we clear with the tea party."
• Booker called for controlling health care costs but avoided the single-payer debate.

Cory Booker: ObamaCare needs to be improved, but is helping people now

Jeff Bell: Replace ObamaCare with tax credits & special coverage

A: We should repeal ObamaCare and replace it with an individual tax credit generous enough to let everyone own and control their own health insurance. For those with preexisting conditions or who otherwise cannot afford insurance in the marketplace, the government should offer coverage.

Joe Pennacchio: Guaranteed medical care is not a government responsibility

Pennacchio indicates he supports these principles regarding health issues:
• Ensure that citizens have access to basic health care through managed care, insurance reforms, or state-funded care.
• Transfer current Medicaid recipients into managed care programs.
• Limit the amount of punitive damages that can be awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits.
• Support patients' right to sue their HMOs.
• Guaranteed medical care to all citizens is not a responsibility of state government.

Phil Murphy: Fight for-profit right-wing agenda to gut ObamaCare

• Lowering insurance premiums by reining in excessive out-of-network costs;
• Restoring state funding to Planned Parenthood and ensuring that all-FDA approved methods of contraception remain accessible to New Jersey women with no out-of-pocket costs;
• Working to identify the state's 75,000 uninsured children and enrolling them in health coverage; and
• Expanding access to addiction treatment and services.

Robert Menendez: Don't force choice of filling prescriptions or refrigerator

KEAN: Given the tremendous fiscal burden that Medicaid places on the federal government, clear guidelines and fiscal rules, combined with state flexibility, could allow all parties to work toward the equal challenge of containing ever-increasing Medicaid expenses. New Jersey must pursue non-traditional avenues of cost containment, including employing today's technological advancements to streamline paperwork, rooting out waste and fraud and utilizing disease management programs to improve outcomes.

MENENDEZ: Tom Kean Jr. and his friends in the Bush administration have chosen to create bigger and bigger federal deficits by granting tax breaks to giant corporations and the super-rich, rather than address the vital health care needs of America's families. No one should ever have to choose between filling their prescriptions and their refrigerator. Everyone deserves quality health care & access to vital medicine at an affordable price.

Robert Menendez: Shift from disease-based to prevention-based system

MENENDEZ: I'm working hard to move our nation from a disease-based health care system to a prevention-based system. Ultimately, we save both lives and money if we focus on prevention & early diagnosis, as opposed to spending more to treat diseases once they've progressed. Last year, I wrote the Patient Navigator, Outreach & Chronic Disease Prevention Act. This bipartisan legislation guides patients through the healthcare maze, thus reducing costs and improving efficiency.

KEAN: How is it that a tenured Congressman can speak so little about how he's worked to build bipartisan coalitions? Bob Menendez has voted at least twice against providing a prescription drug benefit for Medicare, voted at least 3 times to cut $115 billion from the Medicare program and voted against creating tax-free Medical Savings Accounts for our seniors, families & working professionals. This is exactly why we need an independent reformer in Congress

Robert Menendez: Additional taxes on wealthiest 1%, for medical coverage

KEAN: No. Unlike my opponent, I support Health Savings Accounts, Association Health Plans and medical malpractice reform to make healthcare affordable and accessible.

MENENDEZ: We must expand access to affordable healthcare for everyone. Unlike my opponent, I support limiting tax breaks for the wealthiest 1% to pay for it.

Rush Holt: Supports universal single payer system, like VA system

Steve Lonegan: Repeal ObamaCare; no middle ground on defending liberty

Lonegan expressed unwillingness to bend. "There is no such thing as a middle ground with the liberal left," Lonegan said. "And there is no middle ground on defending individual liberty. I will not compromise on it.'"

Lonegan later walked back his rhetoric somewhat by saying there were ways to work together with those with opposing views without compromising core principals.

Steve Lonegan: ObamaCare is an absolute train wreck

Thomas Kean Jr.: Address Medicaid by cost containment & reducing fraud

KEAN: Given the tremendous fiscal burden that Medicaid places on the federal government, clear guidelines and fiscal rules, combined with state flexibility, could allow all parties to work toward the equal challenge of containing ever-increasing Medicaid expenses. New Jersey must pursue non-traditional avenues of cost containment, including employing today's technological advancements to streamline paperwork, rooting out waste and fraud and utilizing disease management programs to improve outcomes.

MENENDEZ: Tom Kean Jr. and his friends in the Bush administration have chosen to create bigger and bigger federal deficits by granting tax breaks to giant corporations and the super-rich, rather than address the vital health care needs of America's families. No one should ever have to choose between filling their prescriptions and their refrigerator. Everyone deserves quality health care & access to vital medicine at an affordable price.

Thomas Kean Jr.: Medicare needs bipartisan independent reforms

MENENDEZ: I'm working hard to move our nation from a disease-based health care system to a prevention-based system. Ultimately, we save both lives and money if we focus on prevention & early diagnosis, as opposed to spending more to treat diseases once they've progressed. Last year, I wrote the Patient Navigator, Outreach & Chronic Disease Prevention Act. This bipartisan legislation guides patients through the healthcare maze, thus reducing costs and improving efficiency.

KEAN: How is it that a tenured Congressman can speak so little about how he's worked to build bipartisan coalitions? Bob Menendez has voted at least twice against providing a prescription drug benefit for Medicare, voted at least 3 times to cut $115 billion from the Medicare program and voted against creating tax-free Medical Savings Accounts for our seniors, families & working professionals. This is exactly why we need an independent reformer in Congress

Thomas Kean Jr.: No additional taxes for medical coverage

KEAN: No. Unlike my opponent, I support Health Savings Accounts, Association Health Plans and medical malpractice reform to make healthcare affordable and accessible.

MENENDEZ: We must expand access to affordable healthcare for everyone. Unlike my opponent, I support limiting tax breaks for the wealthiest 1% to pay for it.

Tom MacArthur: Repeal ObamaCare, then fix insurance industry & tort reform

Tammy Murphy: Expand Medicaid coverage for women a year after childbirth

Phil Murphy: Pulling people out from crushing medical debt is vital