Department of Health and Senior Services Begins New Drug Benefit Program for Individuals with HIV/AIDS

Nearly 1,000 New Jersey residents with HIV?AIDS will be immediately enrolled in a new drug benefit program that will provide free AIDS medications to individuals between 300 and 500 percent of the federal poverty level.

The new program is specifically designed for approximately 960 people enrolled in the existing Aids Drug Distribution Program (ADDP) who will no longer be eligible as of Sunday, August 1. The eligibility change was part of the Department's efforts to address a nearly $11 billion state budget shortfall.

Health and Senior Services Commissioner Dr. Poonam Alaigh explained that the state learned this month that it will receive approximately $5 million in additional rebates recently negotiated from pharmaceutical companies and that - along with newly available federal AIDS grant funding - will enable the Department to automatically transfer those no longer eligible for the ADDP program into the new program called the Temporary AIDS Supplemental Rebate and Federal Assistance Program.

The National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors recently convened a crisis taskforce which successfully negotiated additional rebates from pharmaceutical companies New Jersey expects to receive a share of a new federal ADDP grant program announced earlier this month by U.S. health and Human Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

"The Department faced extremely difficult budget choices and worked continuously to explore every possible option to reverse this reduction and to maintain access. As a physician, I know how important these life-saving medications are to individuals with HIV and AIDS," said Commissioner Alaigh. "New pharmaceutical rebates and federal funds made available after July 1 enabled us to create this new benefit program to ensure that individuals continue to receive these critical medications."

Dr. Alaigh said the transfer from ADDP to the new program "will be virtually seamless. This is another example of Gov. Chris Christie's commitment to help New Jersey's most vulnerable."

"We are very pleased that the pharmaceutical industry could partner with the state of New Jersey to providr critical medications to this vulnerable population," said Steve Isseman, senior vice-president of the Healthcare Institute of New Jersey. "Private/public partnerships are essential during challenging budgetary times to ensure residents have accress to services they need."

These two drug benefit programs will provide life-sustaining and life-prolonging medications to 7,700 low-income individuals with no other source of payment for these drugs. The program covers 960 individuals who will receive a wide range of FDA-approved medications for treating individuals with HIV and AIDS. The existing ADDP program will continue to serve 6,740 clients.

A letter being mailed today to affected participants explains that they will be able to use the same eligibility number that they are currently using when they fill prescriptions.

In addition to providing medication assitance, the Division of HIV?AIDS has several other programs that assit individuals with HIV?AIDS with primary health care, insurance premiums and home care services.

New Jersey has publicly funded HIV clinics statewide that provide primary medical care to more than 12,000 people with HIV?AIDS. The Department also covers health insurance premiums for New Jersey residents with HIV or AIDS who can no longer work or that can only work part time under a program called the New Jersey Health Insurance Continuation Program.

Additionally, the Department provides funding for a statewide network of licensed and certified home health care agencies that provide comprehensive services to individuals with HIV/AIDS who are living in their homes.

Letter from the League of Women Voters of New Jersey

Dear Assemblyman Green,

On behalf of the League of Women Voters of New Jersey, I would like to thank you for your support of a bill to restore funding for family planning services. The League of Women Voters of New Jersey believes that family planning and health care are crucial supportive services and must be funded.

I applaud you for recognizing that this legislation is both good public policy and fiscally responsible. New Jersey's family planning agencies provide reproductive and other health care services to over 136,000 women and men. These agencies are often the gateway to primary health care services for low income and working families who would otherwise not seek traditional preventative health care. Additionally, it is widely eccepted that family planning programs save the state $4 for every $1 spent.

The League of Women Voters of New Jersey commends you on your vote for the budget-neutral bill that will save the state money in health care costs, bring in federal dollars, and provide critical care to NJ women and men. I hope you will support it again if a gubernatorial veto makes another vote necessary. Your support is appreciated by the League of Women Voters of New Jersey and the thousands of people who need access to health centers in NJ every day.

Sincerely,

Anne Maiese
President

Letter From Plainfield Public Library

Dear Assemblyman Green,

I have just received the Joint Resolution of the New Jersey Legislature recognizing my recent award as New Jersey's 2010 Librarian of the Year, and I want to thank you for initiating this honor. I was overwhelmed to receive this special resolution signed by you, Assemblywoman Stender and Senator Scaturi.

AS NJ Librarian of the Year I am proud to represent Plainfield and Union County at the forefront of public library service. As Director of the Plainfield Public Library, I must express gratitude for the support our library has received from you and many Plainfield officials over the years. As the public has become aware of cutbacks in governmental services, our citizens have been vocal about the importance that the public library plays in their lives.

I look forward to your continuing support, not just for the Plainfield Public Library, but for public libraries across the state, all of whom are doing so much for their communities in so many ways. For the sake of our citizens for whom libraries are their lifeblood, please do all that you can to help them survive.

Thank you again for this great honor.

Sincerely yours,

Joseph H. Da Rold

Letter from the Mayor of Elizabeth

June 26, 2010
Source: www.mycentralnewjersey.com

Public should know response to shootings in Plainfield

Plainfield has some big problems on its hands with a spate of recent gang-related shootings. To her credit, Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs last week publicly acknowledged just how serious this has become, turning what had been intended as a news conference to discuss municipal programs into a declaration of a state of emergency in the city.

While it wouldn't be hard to quibble with some of the specific ideas floated at the meeting and their potential value — or lack thereof — in curbing the violence, aggressive action and the willingness to so openly discuss the need for it was certainly welcome.

So why was board of education member Patricia Barksdale trying so hard to keep a lid on this entire discussion, urging Robinson-Briggs to oust the media from the session in which officials were addressing the shootings? The mayor, thankfully, rejected the idea, but that doesn't make Barksdale's attempt any less outrageous. The media represents the community, and it's the community that has so much — literally their lives — at stake here. City government has a responsibility not only to take action, but to inform the public about those actions.

In light of her attempts at secrecy, Barksdale should reassess her own public service. Perhaps it's time for her to step aside and make room for someone with a better understanding of a public official's responsibilities.

x A MISS for Barksdale even asking about excluding the media.

And a HIT for Robinson-Briggs for ignoring her.

NEW JERSEY LEGISLATURE

NEWS RELEASE

FOR RELEASE: CONTACT:

July 01, 2010 Senate Democrats Assembly Democrats

WEINBERG, STENDER, LEGISLATORS & ADVOCATES URGE ACTION ON WOMEN’S HEALTHCARE FUNDING

$7.5 Million Plan Would Benefit & Protect Women, Newborns

( TRENTON ) – Sen. Loretta Weinberg, Assemblywoman Linda Stender, representatives of women’s health organizations and legislators who support access to women’s health programs called on Gov. Chris Christie Thursday to act on legislation to restore $7.5 million in cuts for women’s health programs in the recently enacted FY 2011 state budget.

“,” said Weinberg (D-Bergen). “.”

“Restoring these vital programs will save lives and money,” said Stender (D-Middlesex/Somerset/Union), a vocal opponent of Christie’s cuts to women’s healthcare. “We urge Gov. Christie to enact this restoration so that we can continue to prevent New Jerseyans – especially women – from needlessly dying from diseases that can be treated with proper screening.”

“When you boil down the debate, restoring funding for women’s health programs is about three things: quality of life, the priorities we embrace as New Jerseyans and a woman’s fundamental right to control her own health,” said Speaker Sheila Y. Oliver (D-Essex/Passaic). “Regardless of the outcome, we are asking the governor to act, and act soon, because ever day he delays lives will be needlessly lost.”

The legislation (S-2139/A-3019) would reverse Gov. Christie’s $7.5 million cut to family planning and women’s health services in New Jersey. These services involve contraception; routine gynecological exams; screening for high blood pressure, anemia and diabetes; breast and cervical cancer screening and education; screening and treatment for sexually transmitted infections; HIV testing and counseling, pre-pregnancy counseling and education; pregnancy testing and confirmation and prenatal care. None of the funding would be used to cover abortion services.

“Investing in family planning services will save the state 20 times what it costs to restore the programs,” said Assemblywoman Celeste M. Riley (D-Cumberland/Gloucester/Salem). “We urge the governor to enact this legislation as soon as possible.”

“When a woman gets sick, her entire family suffers,” said Speaker Pro Tempore Jerry Green (D-Middlesex/Somerset/Union). “Gov. Christie could help prevent much of that suffering with the stroke of a pen.”

According to the lawmakers, the bill is revenue neutral, taking funding from surplus funds in the State Employees’ Prescription Drug Program. Gov. Christie’s budget projects the program’s growth at 10 percent; the nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services projects the program’s growth at 4 percent. The bill would use 4 percent of the governor’s projected funding for the prescription program to fund the restoration, leaving enough funding to still meet the prescription program’s needs.

The lawmakers also noted more than 136,000 patients were served by family planning in New Jersey last year, helping prevent 40,000 pregnancies and 19,000 abortions and saving the state more than $150 million.

“Gov. Christie may have callously turned his back on vital services for women and newborns in his budget but he has the ability to correct his mistake by signing this legislation,” said Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D-Bergen). “Doing so will improve public health while saving taxpayers money.”

“The health needs of poor and working-class families – especially women, mothers and newborns – cannot simply be written off to balance the state’s books, whatever the governor may think,” said Assemblywoman Linda R. Greenstein (D-Mercer/Middlesex). “For the sake of the families who depend on this funding to stay healthy, we urge Gov. Christie to sign this bill.”

In addition to restoring the $7.5 million in cuts to women’s health programs, the bill would require the State to apply for an expansion of Medicaid coverage, to allow women between 134 percent and 200 percent of the federal poverty level – or earning between $29,547 and $44,100 a year in income – to receive family planning services under the Medicaid program. By expanding Medicaid enrollment, New Jersey would receive $9 in federal reimbursement for every additional $1 the state spends for family planning services through the state’s Medicaid program.

“Gov. Christie must act swiftly on this measure,” said Assemblywoman Pamela R. Lampitt (D-Camden). “If he enacts it, then he undoes a significant slight against poor women and families in the state. If he vetoes it, then he calls into question his true motivations for the cut.”

“We have a moral obligation to protect the most vulnerable among us,” said Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D-Mercer). “Positive action on this legislation from Gov. Christie will ensure they receive the care they need to live healthy, productive lives, all while saving taxpayer dollars.”

“This bill does more than just provide healthcare for poor women and newborns, it saves taxpayer dollars that would otherwise be spent treating these women and infants in hospital emergency rooms after they have become seriously ill,” said Assemblywoman Connie Wagner (D-Bergen). “If Gov. Christie is serious about saving taxpayers money, we ask him to prove it by signing this bill into law.”

“This is about more than just health services, it is a fundamental debate about access to healthcare,” said Assemblywoman Annette Quijano (D-Union). “We believe that regardless of sex, race, religion or socioeconomic status, every New Jerseyan has the right to seek certain fundamental healthcare services. We hope Gov. Christie feels the same way.”

“Women, whether they’re poor or rich, deserve to have healthcare options beyond, ‘Go to the emergency room,’” said Assemblywoman Cleopatra G. Tucker (D-Essex). “The governor has the ability to provide them with those options with nothing more than his signature.”

“We have demonstrated both the need for these services and a way to fund them without impacting the budget’s bottom line,” said Assemblyman Gordon M. Johnson (D-Bergen). “We have put the bill on Gov. Christie’s desk and would ask him for the courtesy of action, one way or the other.”

“There is no doubt in my mind that this is penny-wise and pound-foolish policy,” said Assemblywoman Joan M. Quigley (D-Hudson). “Restoring this funding, at no cost to taxpayers, will wind up saving the state tens of millions of dollars down the road. We are asking – no, begging – Gov. Christie to do the right thing for poor women and their families.”

“The health needs of women differ from men, especially when it comes to routine screenings and exams; many diseases that strike women require regular checkups to detect,” said Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Mercer). “We would hope Gov. Christie does what is necessary to reverse his denial of these services to the poorest women, mothers and infants among us.”

“We met every critique and every objection in our efforts to have this critical funding restored,” said Assemblywoman Caridad Rodriguez (D-Hudson). “It is now up to Gov. Christie to show us whether he is with or against New Jersey’s most vulnerable women.”

“From the millionaire’s tax veto to this funding cut, Gov. Christie has engaged in class warfare throughout his budget,” said Assemblywoman L. Grace Spencer (D-Essex). “We are asking him to take a step back, recognize his mistake on the issue of women’s healthcare and restore the funding as soon as possible.”

“We believe that the job of government is to protect the most vulnerable among us,” said Assemblywoman Joan M. Voss, Ed.D. (D-Bergen). “We found a way to fulfill that goal where low-income women and families are concerned. It is now up to Gov. Christie to show us whether he’s more concerned with protecting needy New Jersey families or his right-wing image.”

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Ps

These are the kind of issues that I’m championing, working with other legislators around NJ. I think that issues of this magnitude need attention, unfortunately it seems the harder I work the more negative comments I receive from Cory Storch, the New Democrats. Because I support these kinds of issues, they call me unethical and racist; I don’t see anything wrong when I’m fighting for women and children. If that’s considered being a racist, then I’m not going to respond to those kinds of statements.

ASSEMBLY DEMOCRATS NEWS RELEASE

For Release: June 29, 2010

COUTINHO, WISNIEWSKI, GREEN, JASEY & SPENCER

BILL TO EXTEND MORATORIUM ON NONRESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT FEE OK’D BY ASSEMBLY

(TRENTON) – Legislation sponsored by Assembly Democrats Albert Coutinho, John Wisniewski, Jerry Green, Mila Jasey and L. Grace Spencer to extend until Oct. 30 the moratorium on the 2.5 percent nonresidential development fee was approved 55-18-6 Tuesday morning by the Assembly.

“This fee is the last thing builders need as they continue to work to recover from the ongoing recession,” said Coutinho (D-Essex). “This moratorium will help create economic growth and spur job creation in the months ahead.”

“We need to protect the businesses the spark our economy as we fight through the recession,” said Wisniewski (D-Middlesex). “This is common sense legislation that is both pro-business and pro-worker because it will help spark job creation and economic expansion.”

The fee is slated to take effect again on July 1, but Assembly Democrats are seeking to extend the moratorium as they continue to work on plans to eliminate the ineffective state Council on Affordable Housing and reform the state’s affordable housing laws.

“We are committed to blowing up COAH,” said Green (D-Union/Middlesex/Somerset). “We will rid the state of the bureaucratic tangle it has created and implement a new law that will ensure housing is truly affordable across our state, but we will do this right, with input from everyone. I don’t want to be back here next year debating yet another affordable housing bill. I don’t want an endless court fight. I want a system that works.”

“We know our affordable housing laws need fixing, and we will continue working hard on accomplishing that goal, but in the meantime this moratorium is crucial to maintaining momentum as we move past the recession,” said Jasey (D-Essex). “It is the right thing to do for our businesses and workers.”

“We need to send a strong message to the businesses that employ our residents that we understand they’re continuing to try to work through this recession and the last thing we need is to reinstitute this fee,” said Spencer (D-Essex). “We continue to work on a new affordable housing plan, and that won’t be easy, but this one is a no-brainer.”

The bill now moves to the Senate.