Governor Christie’s ‘Tool Kit”: A Hammer Against Public Services, Health Care and Education

July, 2010

Governor Christie is proposing to limit the amount of money that our communities, state agencies, colleges and schools can spend on education, health care, environmental protection and regulations and safeguards that protect our health and safety.

What Governor Christie calls a ‘tool kit’ is really a set of weapons that will harm our quality of life and ability to support local schools and higher education; state funding for hospitals and health care, and the salaries of municipal workers, teachers, nurses and other public service workers. This ‘tool kit’ doesn’t save money and will not reduce taxes – but it will reduce the services we get in our local communities, and it will give Trenton politicians more power over our communities and labor rights.

A Phony Solution to A Real Problem

Governor Christie’s original proposal for a constitutional amendment setting a 2.5% ‘cap’ on Property Taxes, with no allowances for the increases in costs of healthcare, pensions, or other community needs, has now passed the NJ Senate and Assembly as a 2.0% cap that does allow for some exceptions, including health care cost increases.

But, homeowners need real relief from soaring property taxes – the compromise cap is still not the answer. Rather than really holding down our property taxes, an unrealistic cap could force local layoffs and limit the ability of our local communities to decide for themselves priorities for spending. Current law already has a 4% cap on local budgets, with several exemptions. Research indicates that the adoption of a property tax cap does lead to lower teacher quality and lower student achievement. In Massachusetts, which established a similar cap, the state provided substantial increases in state support to make up for the local lost revenue. Still, local governments were left starved for essential services, including education.

Diminishing Due Process for Public Service Workers

A ban on collective bargaining agreements that increase wages, health benefits and retirement benefits exceeding 2.5%. This ‘cap’ limits due process in negotiations, allowing politicians to make decisions or override local decision-making. How can towns and government ‘cap’ the amount for health insurance, unless we also ‘cap’ the outrageous increases by insurance companies – and outrageous $8million CEO compensation?

Returning to Patronage and Political Cronyism: At our Expense

The ‘tool kit’ gives more power to politicians and management to override negotiated contracts, gives elected officials greater control to hire through patronage rather than by qualification (by opting out of civil service protections); to lay-off staff, without consideration of their seniority and experience; to undermine worker protections in personnel actions taken as a result of shared services; and to make it harder for a worker to challenge management decisions by reducing their grievance rights.

Instead, HPAE and the NJ AFL-CIO believe we should:

• Protect the integrity of collective bargaining.
• Support a civil service system that is free from political interference.
• Protect the principle of just cause and due process for workers.

Starving Government Agencies that Protect our Health and Safety

Governor Christie is still proposing a a 2.5% cap on spending for state government operations. Funding for NJ state colleges, charity care and support for hospitals and agencies that serve to protect the environment, inspect hospitals, and keep our roads safe would all be affected by this cap. Even if economic conditions change – or there is an emergency that demands funding – there is no current flexibility in this cap.

IT’S TIME TO SUPPORT HEALTH CARE AND EDUCATION AND OUR COMMUNITIES

NJ’s recently enacted state budget already slashes funding for education, municipal aid and health care programs like Family Care and women’s health services. Thousands of women will lose access to vital health screenings and family planning services unless Governor Christie signs S2139, which would restore the funding and bring 90% matching dollars from the federal government, sponsored by Senators Weinberg and Buono and Assemblywoman Stender and Greenstein. While Christie demands shared sacrifice – he refused to extend the millionaire’s tax that would have helped restore some of the funding and services.

Millionaires got a $16,000 tax break – while we get higher property taxes, crowded classrooms, more expensive college educations and less health care.

JOIN HPAE in fighting for health care and education. Click here to sign on-line petitions to restore women’s health care.

Summary of HPAE Political and Policy Activities: June-July, 2010

July 20, 2010

Hospital Licensing Regulations and Staffing

The NJ Hospital Licensing Regulations, which include sections on nurse and other health professional staffing are up for-readoption, and will be posted in the July-August NJ Register. Jeanne Otersen and Harriet Rubenstein attended the hearing on the re-adoption held by the Health Care Administration Board. HPAE testimony proposed that the re-adoption regulations be amended to include:

• Contact with staff during and after hospital complaint inspections. The Department of Health and Senior Services is proposed eliminating regular inspections in order to focus on complaint inspections.
  Require hospitals to establish staffing committees to include nurses and front-line staff in adopting appropriate staffing ratios.
• Establish a process to review medical-surgical nurse staffing and all staffing levels over the next year.
  HPAE will be asking our leaders and members to organize letter writing efforts in response to the publication of these regulations. Click here for full regulatory proposals and HPAE's response.

Women’s Health Care and Governor’s Budget, Privatization, Attacks on Public Employees

S2139, sponsored by Senator Weinberg and in the Assembly, Linda Stender and Linda Greenstein, would reinstate $7.5million in the NJ budget for clinics providing family planning and women’s health screening. This funding would be eligible for a 90% match from federal funding. Governor Christie deleted this funding from the budget, and may veto this funding. HPAE has joined with women’s organizations, health advocacy and consumer groups calling on the Governor to sign the legislation. Click here for more information and to sign the petition to the Governor.

Senate hearings are taking place on the Governor’s so-called ‘tool-kit’ – really a hammer to destroy many public employee rights and benefits – including HPAE members at UMDNJ and Runnell’s Hospital. HPAE is testifying and lobbying against legislation that will undermine collective bargaining – for example S2206, which would allow local governments to impose non-paid furlough days on workers.

For-Profit Healthcare:

HPAE is advocating for S1468 (Weinberg/Cunningham) which will require for-profit companies to disclose their finances. S1468 passed the NJ Senate Health Committee with HPAE testifying in support, joined by the NJ Association of Social Workers, NJ Citizen Action, AARP and the Health Care Quality Institute. Only the NJ Hospital Association opposed the legislation. Click here to sign our on-line petition.

2010 Elections

HPAE/COPE will be meeting in August to review voting records and questionnaires from candidates for Congress, special elections in the 14th and 5th district for State Senate, and some local and county races, including Bergen County Executive. If you want to participate in screening interviews or meetings, contact Jean Pierce at jpierce@hpae.org

National Health Care Reform

HPAE staff and leaders have been participating in meetings on implementation of national health care reform. This legislation will bring some immediate benefits to NJ families – including the provision that allows children 23-26 to remain on their parents’ health coverage; and end to discriminatory practices and the establishment of high-risk pools and expansion of Medicaid eligibility. See www.health.gov for complete updates and fact sheets, or contact Jeanne Otersen at jotersen@hpae.org.

HPAE Staff Testifies Before NJ State Senate Health Committee and the Assembly Budget Committee

The budget proposed by Governor Christie for 2011 represents slash-and-burn service cuts, trickle-down economics, and the abandonment of regulations that safeguard the health and safety of our nurses, health care workers, our patients and consumers. The shared sacrifices called for are not reflected in the budget, which asks nothing of the very wealthy, but everything of working and middle income families.

Whether you are a nurse, a medical researcher, a lab tech or social worker, you know without the correct diagnosis, you can’t cure or solve the real problem.

Yet, misdiagnosing the cause of our state and national economy’s ills is precisely what we are doing. Here in NJ, in the midst of this terrible recession, our new Governor stands up and says that New Jersey doesn’t have a revenue problem – we have a spending problem. He is also misdiagnosing the problem. And the solutions he poses will cause harm to our members and the public we serve at hospitals, nursing homes and universities across NJ.

Click here to read the full testimony

2010

Getting Health Care Right
Holding our Hospitals Accountable

In 2009, in contracts and through legislation, we fought to keep our hospitals focused on the basics of patient care, instead of spending on CEO salaries and perks and fancy lobbies. We fought to improve staffing levels for patient care, and to maintain safe and decent working conditions for healthcare workers.

Now the fight moves to the NJ and federal legislature, to change the laws we need changed to hold our health care system accountable to the patients we serve, not to the insurance companies or for-profit owners. We have a new Governor, Chris Chrstie, who has already promised to freeze many of the safeguards we fought for (see transition report).

Already, HPAE was successful in winning new laws requiring hospitals to hold annual open public meetings; provide training for Board members; and allow the NJDHSS to more closely monitor and intervene in financially troubled hospitals. Other priorities for HPAE/COPE that hold our health system accountable to patient care and our communities:

• Safe staffing for our patients (A660/Greenstein): requiring hospitals to establish safe nurse-to-patient staffing levels; TAKE ACTION: Tell Your State Senator you support requiring hospitals to establish safe nurse-to-patient staffing levels.
• Hold hospital boards accountable by limiting board conflicts of interests that might divert resources from patient care (S369/Weinberg); TAKE ACTION: Tell Your State Senator you support ending conflicts among hospital boards of trustees.
• Require for-profit hospitals to disclose their finances (A1523/Wagner): This legislation requires for-profits to provide the public with information about where their patient care funds go – into profits, or patient care. TAKE ACTION: Tell Your Assemblymember to support A1523
• TAKE ACTION: Tell Your State Senate to support bill S911 which upgrades penalties for assaulting certain health care professionals and workers.

Other COPE Priorities:

• (S809/Vitale) establishes licensing for dieticians/nutrionists;
• (S362/Weinberg) allows for direct payment of benefits to providers; [More here]
• (S363/Weinberg) establishes state task force for Health Information Technology, with HPAE as member representatives;
• (A662/Greenstein) bans imposition of terms and conditions of contract by public employers;
• (A3729/S2532/Weinberg/Gordon/Huttle) which requires the Department of Banking and Insurance to more carefully scrutinize and hold public hearings;
• (S369/A656/Weinberg) requires each hospital board of trustees to adopt a written policy governing conflicts of interest; [More here]
• (A936/Huttle/Handlin/Munoz) requires managed care plans to pay health care claims based on assignment of benefits.
• (A4090/S1468/Weinberg) requires for-profit hospitals to disclose financial information.

Click here for audio of Jeanne Otersen’s testimony before the Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee on February 8, 2010 in support of A656 requiring hospital boards of trustees to have conflict of interest policies.

In the News

Weinberg/Gordon Measure Would Require Hospitals To Adopt Conflicts Of Interest Policy
February 4, 2010

TRENTON -- A measure sponsored by Senators Loretta Weinberg and Bob Gordon which would require hospital boards of trustees to adopt a policy regulating conflicts of interest on the part of board members was approved today by the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee.

Senate Panel Green Lights Girgenti Bill Cracking Down On Assaults Against Health Care Workers
February 4, 2010

TRENTON – A measure sponsored by Senator John Girgenti, aimed at deterring assaults against healthcare professionals by upgrading the penalties for such an offense, was unanimously approved today by the Senate Law and Public Safety Committee.

On the national level, HPAE is working with the AFL-CIO and Healthcare for America Now to enact real health care reform. Our principles for any health care reform include Choice, Accessibility, Quality and Affordability. Real Health Care Reform must include a public plan as an alternative – to help set standards, provide choice for individuals and small companies, provide competition for insurance companies, and to lower costs through negotiation with drug companies and providers.

Join HPAE members in the fight for national health care reform. Contact your local COPE representative or Jean Pierce at jpierce@hpae.org.