Vitale Statement On Familycare Bill Signing

TRENTON – Senator Joseph F. Vitale, D-Middlesex, the Chairman of the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee and a prime sponsor of legislation which will restructure New Jersey’s FamilyCare program to provide access to quality health care for New Jersey’s working families, issued the following statement on today’s emergency vote and unanimous approval of his bill:

“Today, the New Jersey Senate took a bold, but necessary step to ensure that all of our State’s residents, regardless of their economic background, have access to the quality health care that they need.

TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senators Joseph F. Vitale and Barbara Buono which would overhaul the State’s FamilyCare health insurance program for the working poor was given unanimous approval by the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, and received an emergency vote and approval in the State Senate by a vote of 38-0.

“There’s an old saying that a society is judged by how we treat our most vulnerable members, and in New Jersey, we will now do better,” said Senator Vitale, D-Middlesex, the Chairman of the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee. “New Jersey FamilyCare was a revolutionary program when it was first-adopted by the State, but recent cuts due to budget shortfalls have hurt the effectiveness of the program, and forced the State to scale back coverage. A redesigned FamilyCare program to provide access to quality health care for all of our least fortunate residents will put New Jersey back on the map in terms of meeting our obligation to help the working poor.”

TRENTON – Senator Joseph F. Vitale and Assemblyman Robert Morgan, MD, announced today that they will make it a priority to reform New Jersey’s FamilyCare health insurance system in 2005, to increase participation and provide expanded coverage to New Jersey’s uninsured.

“New Jersey’s FamilyCare program is a boon to those who would otherwise be without hope, but frankly, it doesn’t go far enough,” said Senator Vitale, D-Middlesex, Chairman of the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee. “Despite our best efforts under the current system, there are still more than 264,000 children in this State who remain uninsured. We need to dramatically change our current system of identifying and enrolling children, to live up to our commitment of providing health insurance to those in need.”

TRENTON – Senate Committees will meet on Monday to consider a wide array of new legislation, including a package of bills sponsored by Senator Shirley K. Turner that would implement some of the recommendations of the Motor Vehicle Affordability and Fairness Task Force.

Senator Turner’s bill will be considered by the Senator Transportation Committee at their 10 a.m. meeting.

TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senators Joseph F. Vitale and Barbara Buono which would reform New Jersey’s FamilyCare health insurance system to cover uninsured children and working poor adults was unanimously approved by the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee today.

“New Jersey has a moral obligation to provide for our least fortunate citizens, and the FamilyCare insurance program was designed to address that need,” said Senator Vitale, D-Middlesex, the Chairman of the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee. “Unfortunately, there remains more than 200,000 children in this State who are uninsured, despite qualifying for FamilyCare health insurance coverage. We need a higher standard and a better success rate if we’re ever going to see FamilyCare live up to its promise of universal health care coverage for all working class residents in New Jersey.”

TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senators Joseph F. Vitale and Barbara Buono which would overhaul the State’s FamilyCare health insurance program for the working poor was approved by the Assembly today by a vote of 77-3, receiving final legislative approval.

“New Jersey’s children, regardless of their economic background, deserve a chance at a healthy life, and the FamilyCare program will now be better-suited to providing the means to help those who could otherwise not afford quality health care,” said Senator Vitale, D-Middlesex, the Chairman of the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee. “With renewed purpose and reenergized goals, FamilyCare will put us closer than ever before to realizing that health care is not a luxury — it’s a basic human right, to which every single person in New Jersey and elsewhere is entitled. The new FamilyCare will put health care in reach for thousands of people who would otherwise simply do without.”

HAMILTON – A bill sponsored by Senators Joseph F. Vitale and Barbara Buono which would overhaul the State’s FamilyCare health insurance program for the working poor, to provide accessible, quality health care to all New Jerseyans was signed into law today by Governor Codey.

“Health care is not a privilege — it is a basic right that every New Jersey family should be entitled to, regardless of their financial status,” said Senator Vitale, D-Middlesex, the Chairman of the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee. “For years, New Jersey FamilyCare offered affordable or no-cost health insurance to working families, but the program was scaled back during recent budget shortfalls. This new law would restore FamilyCare, and ensure that no one in New Jersey will ever again have to go without quality, long-term health care because of their economic circumstances.”