NJ hopes to pilot ‘multi-payer’ coordinated care initiative
New Jersey could be among a handful of states chosen in March to participate in an innovative pilot that will partner Medicare and private insurers in a coordinated model for healthcare. The Medicare initiative will increase the payments made to primary care practices so they can set up “medical homes” that coordinate patient care, makes sure preventive screenings are performed, and cut down on hospital readmissions. (Fitzgerald, NJ Spotlight)
Another setback for offshore wind farm near Atlantic City
For the second time this month, a consultant retained by the state has determined that an offshore wind farm proposed three miles off the coast of Atlantic City has failed to justify the economic benefits of moving forward.
The findings place big new hurdles in front of the Fishermen’s Atlantic City wind farm, the most advanced of several offshore projects vying to build wind turbines to produce pollution-free electricity along the coast of New Jersey. (Johnson, NJ Spotlight)
Report: N.J. municipalities overpay for health insurance
The New Jersey state comptroller said Tuesday that local and county governments are wasting more than $100 million a year by enrolling employees in private health-insurance plans — some of them politically connected — instead of the state health plan.
Among the local governments Comptroller Matthew Boxer faulted was Essex County, which for 14 years has purchased insurance from Conner Strong, the company run by George Norcross III, the chairman of the Camden County Democratic Party and an influential force in state politics. Norcross is aligned with Essex County Executive Joseph DiVencenzo, another influential figure who exercises power in the northern part of the state. (Haddon, The Wall Street Journal)
Democrats in the Legislature are trying to turn the tables after Gov. Chris Christie pulled New Jersey out of a greenhouse gas coalition last year. They are advancing a bill to restore the state’s standing in the cap-and-trade program intended to limit carbon emissions.
Both houses have committee-cleared measures ready for votes that would require New Jersey’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which was reduced to a nine-state combine when the Republican governor in May 2011, to the dismay of environmental advocates, deemed the program ineffective. (Jordan, Gannett)
Senate hearing to refocus attention on tenure reform
The debate over tenure reform in New Jersey is likely to be back on the front burner next week, as a high-profile bill goes before a key Senate committee — with some key questions far from resolved.
The legislation, sponsored by state Sen. Teresa Ruiz (D-Essex), would revamp how teachers receive and lose tenure. Titled “Teacher Effectiveness and Accountability for the Children of NJ” (TEACHNJ), the bill has been scheduled for hearing by the Senate education committee on Monday. (Mooney, NJ Spotlight)
>Local businesses cheer Pascack hospital’s reopening By Melinda Caliendo
When the decision came down Monday night from the Health Department to reopen the former Pascack Valley Hospital, business owners in the borough of Westwood breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
Lee Tremble, a lifelong resident who owns the Iron Horse restaurant in downtown Westwood, said his father took out a $100 loan to contribute to the building of the facility in the late 1950s. When the hospital closed in 2007, Tremble said he saw an “exodus” of families.
But when Hackensack University Medical Center North opens either later this year or early in 2013, Tremble feels the trend will be reversed.
>Got Milk? The Valley Hospital Offers Child-Friendly Hospital Apparel
RIDGEWOOD, NJ – (February 28, 2012) — Going to the hospital can be a scary experience for a child. To try to make its young patients as comfortable as possible, The Valley Hospital has begun offering specially designed child-friendly hospital apparel. The line includes a tee-shirt and pants set for children and a tee-shirt for infants in soft cotton with bright, child-friendly designs.
“We’ve gotten a great response to the new designs from parents,” said Jeffrey Bienstock, M.D., Director of Pediatrics. “They love the cute designs and the children seem to like being able to wear something comfortable and familiar that reminds them of their own pajamas.”
The new apparel comes in two designs custom made for The Valley Hospital: “Got Milk?” and “Doctor-Doctor.”
“We are pleased to be able to offer the new child-friendly hospital wear as a wonderful amenity for children and their families,” Bienstock said. “Anything that can reduce the stress associated with a hospitalilzation for children and their families is a wonderful thing.”
When New York City last week posted the performance ratings for thousands of its public school teachers online, it raised concerns about the fairness of the data and the accuracy of the ratings themselves.
It also brought up questions on this side of the Hudson River as to whether public grades for teachers would be coming to New Jersey next, as this state develops its own teacher evaluation system.
Yesterday, acting education commissioner Chris Cerf tried to quell worries and said he would be against public disclosure of individual teachers’ scores. (Mooney, NJ Spotlight)
Bills target perks enjoyed by Port Authority of NY and NJ employees
Two measures that would end perks enjoyed by Port Authority of New York and New Jersey employees and help assure toll-payers that their money was spent responsibly received the Senate Transportation Committee’s endorsement Monday.
The Port Authority, which runs area bridges, tunnels, and transit hubs and owns the World Trade Center site, has been tarnished by audits showing rising employee compensation, excessive overtime, and ballooning debt. The agency’s finances came under scrutiny in August when the board approved steep toll increases at New Jersey-New York crossings that outraged many commuters. (Delli Santi, Associated Press)
Senate hears bill on Obamacare health insurance exchange
A bill to create a New Jersey health insurance exchange — an online virtual marketplace where consumers and small businesses will buy health coverage — heads for its first hearing in the Senate today.
The legislation (S1319) isn’t likely to have a smooth time of it: The state’s heath insurers oppose the bill, unhappy with the amount of power it vests in the insurance exchange’s governing board. They argue that the board will limit consumer choice and stifle competition. Some consumer advocates, however, argue that the board should have more power. (Fitzgerald, NJ Spotlight)
>Obama Administration using the Espionage Act to take whistle-blowers to court By DAVID CARR Published: February 26, 2012
Last Wednesday in the White House briefing room, the administration’s press secretary, Jay Carney, opened on a somber note, citing the deaths of Marie Colvin and Anthony Shadid, two reporters who had died “in order to bring truth” while reporting in Syria.
Jake Tapper, the White House correspondent for ABC News, pointed out that the administration had lauded brave reporting in distant lands more than once and then asked, “How does that square with the fact that this administration has been so aggressively trying to stop aggressive journalism in the United States by using the Espionage Act to take whistle-blowers to court?”
He then suggested that the administration seemed to believe that “the truth should come out abroad; it shouldn’t come out here.”
Fair point. The Obama administration, which promised during its transition to power that it would enhance “whistle-blower laws to protect federal workers,” has been more prone than any administration in history in trying to silence and prosecute federal workers.
>Home prices fell in December in most US cities Survey: Prices fell in 18 of 20 US cities in final months of 2011, prices back to 2002 level Associated PressBy Derek Kravitz, AP Economics Writer | Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Home prices fell in December for a fourth straight month in most major U.S. cities, as modest sales gains in the depressed housing market have yet to lift prices.
The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home-price index shows prices dropped in December from November in 18 of the 20 cities tracked. The steepest declines were in Atlanta, Chicago and Detroit. Miami and Phoenix were the only cities to show an increase.
The declines partly reflect the typical slowdown that comes in the fall and winter.
Still, prices fell in 19 of the 20 cities in December compared to the same month in 2010. Only Detroit posted a year-over-year increase. Prices in Atlanta, Las Vegas, Seattle and Tampa dropped to their lowest points since the housing crisis began. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/home-prices-fell-december-most-140231740.html
Bill to encourage, or force, shared public services in N.J. approved by Senate committee
Legislation designed to encourage local governments to share public services as a way to cut costs was approved by the state Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee Monday.
The proposal (S-2) would require state’s Local Unit Alignment, Reorganization, and Consolidation Commission (LUARCC) to study municipal governments to determine where taxpayer dollars could be saved through sharing of services. If the study shows that a savings can be realized in one or more local governments or departments, the question of whether to do so or not would be put to a public referendum in all cities or towns involved, assuming those municipalities do not enter into a shared services agreement on their own. (Hester, New Jersey Newsroom)
>Chris Rutishauer Director of Public Works/Village Engineer corrects record on old Village Ford property
Up until now we’ve only heard rumors (like Valley buying the site). I haven’t received any official New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection notification (which we do for all spill/discharge reports to the State hotline) of any release. The last proposal we had heard about for the site was for a Quick Check with gas pumps.
We haven’t received anything at the Planning Board either. As for the cell tower, I thought that was proposed for behind Boyd’s.
I would be the correct person to ask.
Chris Rutishauser, P.E. Director of Public Works/Village Engineer 131 North Maple Avenue Ridgewood, New Jersey 07450 (201) 670-5500, extension 239
Newark Mayor Cory A. Booker endorses Christie’s school reforms
Newark Mayor Cory A. Booker said Monday that he backs Gov. Chris Christie’s education reform measures — including school choice and teacher tenure changes — but he is critical of the new plan for higher education.
Booker, a Democratic rising star often mentioned as a possible gubernatorial contender next year to Christie, a Republican, made the comments during a meeting Monday with the Asbury Park Press editorial board.
Booker said he liked a new teacher tenure bill, sponsored by an Essex County state senator. That bill would end tenure as a lifetime job guarantee and force teachers to show they are proficient in their jobs or face possible dismissal or added risk for being laid off. (Method, Gannett)
