Overview
- We want ALL New Jersey residents to be covered by Medicare!
- Make “Medicare For All” a reality
- Don’t create a new health care plan
- Don’t rewrite Medicare
- Just take what we have, national Medicare, and make it THE one and only health care plan for New Jersey
The Present Situation
- New Jersey health care is financed through the same array of confusing and conflicting health care plans that hobble health care nationally
- 700,000 NJ residents do not have health insurance
- Provider choices are limited to the networks each carrier creates
- All affordable plans have very high deductibles, requiring large out-of-pocket expenses
- Administrative costs are high because of the large number of carriers and plans they offer
Recent efforts to achieve Medicare for All in NJ
- NJUHC has evaluated several approaches to implementing universal health care in New Jersey
- New Jersey has an exceptional amount of cross border employment and health care provision with neighboring states, which other states have found difficult to resolve
- Governing and managing a new state single payer plan is complicated by changes in the State’s political environment and leadership
- State legislation may pass, but implementation of a totally new health plan requires a massive expansion of State government
Why Medicare for All would be better for NJ
- Medicare stands out as a rational, cost effective program providing health care coverage for over 50 years to more than 55 million 65+ and those with disabilities
- Medicare reduces administrative costs for providers and consumers, making health care more affordable
- Medicare provides patients with the maximum choice of doctors and hospitals
- Medicare allows doctors to spend more time on patient care and less on negotiating with insurance companies
- Medicare can cover every NJ resident
- Medicare has the ability to manage and operate Medicare in NJ without the need for any new State agencies or bureaucracy
- A precedent for designating Medicare as the sole provider in a defined geographic area already exists in Libby, MT
- Medicare for All in NJ would be a model for other states, allowing a gradual state-by-state expansion of Medicare until every U.S. resident is covered
Highlights of legislation that could move us toward Medicare for All in NJ
- Requests that the federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) enroll every NJ resident in Medicare, cradle to grave, as part of a new demonstration program
- States clearly that NJ wants national Medicare Program to become THE one and only health care plan for New Jersey for all necessary medical services
- Does not allow any other health care plan sold in New Jersey to offer coverage included in Medicare
- Directs CMS to act under the waiver provisions of the Affordable Care Act, or under the experimentation provisions built into Medicare legislation, without need for an act of Congress
- Establishes a Medicare administrative district exclusively for NJ
Next Steps
- Find a Senate sponsor for A4538, our NJ bill
- Identify legislative sponsors and state organizations to support and sponsor the new legislation
- Develop support from Business and Medical interests
- Share our legislative model with other states thru the One-Payer States network
- Build grassroots support for NJ Medicare for All via town hall meetings and educational events around the State