Washington DC , a simple idea to lower healthcare costs continues to be ignored by New Jersey state legislator ,according to Alieta Eck, MD ,”this was a hearing in 2011. Our bill, NJ S239, is still waiting to be heard by the NJ Senate Health Committee. We believe we have enough votes to pass it through, but Senator Vitale refuses to post it. What we are asking, and I fear I did not make this clear enough in the hearing, is that we are asking the state to cover the liability of the PRIVATE practices of physicians who donate 4 hours/week in or through a non-government free clinic. The federal government already protects us for the work we do in the free clinic via the Federal Tort Claims Act. ”
She goes on , “This would improve access to care for the ambulatory Medicaid population, for people who have no insurance or funds to pay for primary care, for people who are undocumented and need medical care– and it would take a huge burden off the taxpayers. If the federal government would block grant those Medicaid dollars back to the states, the states could use the funds to continue to care for the poor and disabled and for indigent nursing home patients– and the state contribution to the Medicaid system would be far less. State budgets would be much easier to balance and taxes would be lower.”
