Governor Christie’s proposed state budget includes a $10 million grant to help launch the new medical school planned by Hackensack University Health Network and Seton Hall University, and contains several other items that affect hospitals, including a major reduction in charity care funding.
The governor pointed with pride to the impact of his 2014 decision to expand Medicaid to include poor, childless adults, through funding from the federal government under the Affordable Care Act. “More of our poor [are] receiving good health care,” he said, “and charity care in our hospitals [is] dramatically reduced.”
The addition of 434,000 people to the Medicaid rolls over the last two years has meant fewer uninsured patients in the state’s hospitals. Calling this a “fundamental shift,” Christie proposed cutting the state’s allocation for charity care, which compensates hospitals for the treatment they provide the uninsured, by $75 million. When federal matching funds are included, that means hospitals will lose $150 million, a reduction of 30 percent from the current level of funding, to $352 million.
At the same time, the budget would increase funding for graduate medical education — the extra costs incurred by hospitals when they train interns and residents — by $61 million. The net effect is an $89 million reduction in aid to hospitals.
A constitutional amendment to mandate quarterly payments to the pension system could have “potentially cataclysmic consequences” on the quality of life in New Jersey, according to a new report, requiring more than $3 billion in tax increases by 2022. Salvador Rizzo, The Record Read more
FEBRUARY 12, 2016 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2016, 12:31 AM
BY MATTHEW SCHNEIDER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
RIDGEWOOD – A large number of teachers once again took the stand during Monday’s Board of Education (BOE) meeting, enumerating the various reasons why they feel a fair contract must be reached between the BOE and Ridgewood Education Association (REA).
Despite protracted negotiations, an agreement still has yet to be hammered out, causing much concern on both sides.
Although the BOE has continuously said that it values its educators and recognizes the necessity of their work, many teachers remain unconvinced.
Some, like Kim Casey, of Travell Elementary School, said they still feel like they are only figures on a spreadsheet.
“To you, I am merely a number,” she stated. “To you I am merely … the numbers of years I have before retirement, when you can fill my position with a younger teacher who won’t cost the taxpayers as much money.”
Others, like teacher Andrea Petron, of Ridge Elementary School, said they feel like teachers are an indispensible part of Ridgewood schools, and that the BOE has not treated them fairly.
“After pouring our hearts and souls into the district, it is important to know that we are appreciated and respected for the work we do,” she said. “Education is not a business, and it should not be treated as such.
“Teachers literally create every profession in the world,” she continued. “Teaching is the fundamental basis of every facet of society. It is time for you to start treating us like the rest of the world could not go on without us, including Ridgewood.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Scott Garrett (NJ-05) issued the following statement after voting for H.R. 3762, the Restoring Americans’ Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act, Objections of the President Notwithstanding:
“Today I voted to override the president’s veto of the ObamaCare repeal bill because Washington bureaucrats have no place standing between hardworking families and their health care choices. ObamaCare forces American families out of their insurance, skyrockets the cost of care, and stifles the ability of businesses to create jobs. I will continue to fight for families and their right to make their own health care decisions.”
In October Garrett pushed for the Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act , “The last thing New Jersey families need is an unaccountable Washington bureaucrat driving a wedge between them and their doctors or limiting their access to quality health care. Today I supported the Restoring Americans’ Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act because Americans deserve the repeal of ObamaCare’s most onerous and costly mandates, and they deserve to be put back in charge of their own health care choices.”
Despite the media hype the disaster that is Obamacare has been well documented . Here are just a few real examples off of social media posts .
“A gentlemen Im friends with was paying 300 a month for insurance on a family of 4. Now because of Obamacare It went to 700 a month and now cant afford it and dropped it and doesnt have it, when he filed taxes was fined 900 dollars because he was unable to provide for his family paying a total of 8400 a year for insurance, kinda seems that they want working people to pay for their family , as well as another family that wont work , an if they dont they pay a fine. Does anybody remember what our great politicians said about this program ? All lies ” David H”I said it two years ago and I will say it again, Obamacare is an epic fail for this country. I couldn’t afford insurance 2 years ago and things have increased since then. My girls insurance premiums have doubled and their deductibles have tripled. Not only that this plan that is supposed to be “AFFORDABLE” covers NOTHING…NOTHING until my deductible is met. I pay full price for doctors visits, x-rays, medication, specialist until the deductible is met. So basically I am required to pay the premium and pay for everything on top of it. Honestly I just need to quit working, reduce my income by 1/2 and get all this stuff for free. Health care is affordable if your rich or if your poor. The people in the middle that are grinding it out every day get screwed….again.” Jake C
” I was getting FREE MEDS from Johnson & Johnson because I have a life threatening Pancreas Condition. As soon as ObamaCare kicked in first my Doctor was changed to one I dont know and who does not even have my medical records. I had to fight and 3 times they tried to change my Doctor to one who is 25 miles away. I REFUSED EACH TIME! Then Obamacare stopped me from getting my Pancreas pills and I was told I had to take different pills which did not work causing me great stomach pain. With Obamacare you dont get the best meds you get the cheapest ones possible and many times they have side effects or dont work. I have had to fight the effects of ObamaCare many times. I went to the Senior Citizen Center when I became 65 and they helped me find a Health Care provider who will supply my Pancreas pills. Out of 50 available only 1 would pay for my meds. I READ OBAMACAREBEFORE IT WAS MADE A ILLEGAL LAW. I knew what is contained. I tried to tell others and they would not listen. I had to wait 3 years for the people to find out themselves. ObamaCare is CRAP! The only ones being helped are those who had previous medical conditions and those who could not afford health care coverage. So 20 % are being helped by ObamaCareand 80% are paying the huge price.” Mary M
see more real feedback : https://mychal-massie.com/premium/speak-out-your-obamacare/
FEBRUARY 5, 2016 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2016, 12:31 AM
BY MATTHEW SCHNEIDER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
RIDGEWOOD – Amidst driving rain, members of the Ridgewood Education Association (REA) held a rally outside the village’s education building Wednesday afternoon, hoping to encourage REA President Mike Yannone as he re-entered negotiations with the Ridgewood Board of Education (BOE) and a state-appointed fact-finder.
“This is unbelievable,” Yannone said as he watched the teachers marching around in the downpour. “I didn’t think anybody would be here.”
However, upon further reflection, Yannone noted that the “frustration level of the teachers of this town is really high,” and that a “little rain isn’t going to stop them from coming out.”
The members of the REA, marching around shouting “settle now,” say they feel they have not received a fair contract offer from the BOE, as the proposal does not address their concerns about healthcare contributions.
“We’re still dealing with the same proposal they gave us 11 months ago,” Yannone said, adding that in negotiations, “Two sides have to be willing to come in here and compromise.
“Both sides have to be willing to give to get,” he continued. “We’ve had that approach all the way through.”
FEBRUARY 5, 2016 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2016, 12:31 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Looking at the larger picture
To the editor,
As a former nine year member of the Ridgewood Board of Education I would like to recognize and thank the current five members of the Board for their service. Only a few of us fully understand the position that they find themselves in during the time of teacher negotiations.
These five community members are up against the most powerful union in New Jersey. While their conversations are with representatives of the Ridgewood Education Association, the NJEA is right behind the curtain. At the same time each member when they were sworn into office, they took an oath. The oath was pretty much their commitment to play by the established rules. Public education is a regulated industry. Knowing the five members of our Board, I have no doubt that they are doing everything possible to reach a settlement with the REA within the established constraints and what is feasible for all parties. I can understand that the REA may not like those constraints.
I know the fact finder is scheduled to come to Ridgewood, shortly. Unfortunately, it is not one of those situations that after a few hours of meetings the fact finder will appear on the steps of the Education Center and make a declaration of the facts. However, those financial facts will probably rule the day in a report issued weeks later.
Looking at the larger economic picture, we know that the salary guide in the Ridgewood teachers’ contract is one of the highest in the county. We know that the offered state health benefit plan is one of the best, if not the best available in the program. For those of us employed outside of the teaching profession, we have seen stagnant salaries for a number of years and have experienced job insecurity. As to health benefits, we may be contributing the same percentage to our health care premiums, but the plan in which we are enrolled is probably a lot different today than it was a few years ago. The days of $10 copays have been replaced with high deductible plans.
I know teachers have and will continue to express their views at the microphone during public comment of BOE meetings. They have every right to do that. But, does not every issue have two sides? I firmly believe our Board is doing everything possible.
FEBRUARY 5, 2016 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2016, 12:31 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Contract discussions continue
To The Editor,
Last week the Ridgewood Board of Education used this space to comment on the status of negotiations with the Ridgewood Education Association. In their statement they stated that they recently presented to us “a new and comprehensive proposal”. The village should know that this was not the case.
The major issue before us is health care contributions that is no secret every time both sides meet that is all we talk about. Almost 200 teachers came to last Monday’s BOE meeting because of this issue with 20 of them speaking personally and passionately on this topic. The board’s “new and comprehensive” proposal on this issue has not changed in 11 months, they have offered nothing new. Their continued solution is to provide teachers with a level of health care that would be the worst of any district in the state. The only savings found in this plan are on the Board’s end any savings for teachers quickly evaporate once the plan is used. They would do nothing to lower the crushing costs of contribution levels.
Again we heard about 2 percent caps on their budget. The district has money in its $101 million budget, they just prioritize its use elsewhere: additional administrators, paid speakers and consultants, fancy furniture, and yes ebooks for elementary aged children who don’t have Chromebooks just to name a few. At Monday’s meeting they announced that they were allocating $970,000 for technology in next year’s budget. But there is no money to settle this contract?
What I found most interesting in the Board’s statement was the use of quotation marks around the word fair as if this is a foreign concept that has no place in the discussion. Good faith negotiations require compromise. A “fair” settlement is when both sides give to get. The REA understands this and has been willing to give in other areas of the contract. We have repeatedly pitched creative concepts to reach a middle ground and have been rebuffed at every step with no counter proposal offered. Their statement reads as if they have actually engaged in back and forth negotiations, when in fact they have yet to offer anything new and substantial for our team to consider. Successful negotiations can not be one sided, and right now the REA feels like we are simply talking to ourselves.
It should come as no surprise that we find ourselves in this impasse as this Board has stated publicly that they are against the rights of teachers to collectively bargain. The Ridgewood Board of Education doesn’t want “fair”, they want it all.
Law’s expiration may renew battle over benefits
February 2,2016
PLEASANTVILLE, N.J. (AP) — A state law requiring public employees to pay a percentage of their health benefit premiums expired last year, setting the stage for a battle over benefits between school boards and teachers unions.
At issue is whether school boards will be able to maintain those payments during contract negotiations or whether the unions will have the clout to roll them back, The Press of Atlantic City reported ().
At stake are millions of dollars that ultimately would be passed on to local taxpayers. Statewide, school districts budgeted almost $4 billion for all employee benefits for the 2015-16 school year.
That represents almost 18 percent of all state aid and local taxes spent on education.
Steve Baker, director of communications for the New Jersey Education Association, wrote in an email that they expect many local unions will make the payment an important part of their negotiations.
“Different locals will pursue different strategies, but I think you should expect to see that issue raised in nearly all negotiations once the sunset is reached,” Baker said.
The New Jersey School Boards Association is advising members to expect that request. In a November memo, NJSBA manager of labor relations Patrick Duncan noted that in the last year prior to the law, only 13 percent of contracts analyzed by the NJSBA required any employee contribution.
“How Practicing Physicians Would Restore Affordability, Promote Patient Choice, and Retain Quality in Medical Care.”
Last spring, a group of about 40 physicians convened in Washington, DC to outline the principles we believed to be key in any health care system– basically minimizing the role of the federal government. As we walked the halls of Congress, delivering our message, look who we ran into. I believe that Ted Cruz would like our one-page outline, “How Practicing Physicians Would Restore Affordability, Promote Patient Choice, and Retain Quality in Medical Care.”
BOE-REA Negotiations Click here to read a Letter to the Editor of The Ridgewood News, which appeared in the paper on January 29, 2016.
BOE Meets on February 8 at 7:30 p.m.
The Ridgewood Board of Education will hold a Regular Public Meeting on Monday, February 8, 2016 at 7:30 p.m.
The public is invited to attend the meeting at the Ed Center, 49 Cottage Place, Floor 3. The meeting may also be viewed on FiOS channel 33, Optimum channel 77 or from computers via the “Live BOE Meeting” tab on the district website.FiOS channel 33, Optimum channel 77 or from computers via the “Live BOE Meeting” tab on the district website.
Click here to view the agenda for the January 25, 2016 Regular Public Meeting.
Click here to view the minutes of the December 21, 2015 Regular Public Meeting.
Click here to view the minutes of the January 4, 2016 Reorganization/Regular Public Meeting.
JANUARY 29, 2016 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016, 12:31 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Board ‘committed’ to settling contract
to the editor:
At Monday’s Board of Education meeting, 20 Ridgewood teachers spoke at the podium. They spoke passionately about their love of teaching and their deep commitment to our children. With pride, they enumerated the educational opportunities that Ridgewood provides and acknowledged the exceptional quality of our district. They implored the Board to reach a “fair” settlement and expressed their frustration that the contract remained unsettled.
The Board is sympathetic to the concerns expressed by our teachers and shares the desire to complete negotiations as quickly as possible. The Board has made every effort to listen to the union’s concerns and address them.
On Jan. 20 at our last negotiation session, the Board made a new comprehensive proposal that would have increased the take-home pay of every teacher through a combination of salary increases and revisions to the health care plans offered to the REA members. The Board also offered to discuss several ideas to ameliorate the impact of the 35 percent employee health care premium contributions paid by the highest paid staff.
These proposals address the teachers’ primary concerns while staying within the district’s financial capabilities.
Some of the teachers’ comments questioned Ridgewood Public Schools’ spending on improving curriculum, professional development, technology and eBooks in our elementary school libraries. While our teachers and the work they do are key to making Ridgewood the superior district that it is, we know that their jobs would be exponentially more challenging if they did not have new and improved textbooks, revised curriculum and the technology enhancements such as Chromebooks.
As the Board of Education, we are committed to balancing these competing costs and the need to continue to deliver a well-balanced educational program to our students. With the state-imposed hard cap that restricts district property tax revenue increases to 2 percent or less of the prior year taxes, this is a very tough assignment.
We have had numerous meetings with the REA team and are willing to meet at any time to negotiate all components of the contract.
In the meantime, we will move forward to fact-finding. Next week, both sides will have the opportunity to submit their positions, arguments and exhibits to an independent, state-appointed fact-finder. We expect the fact-finder to issue his non-binding recommendations by the end of April.
This Board is committed to settling an equitable new contract that treats our teachers fairly, is respectful of the taxpayers and maintains the financial integrity of the district. Most importantly, we want to end the unrest that drains our staff’s energy so that they can focus on the important job of teaching our children, which is something that they do exceptionally well.
We are united with the teachers in the goal of continuing Ridgewood’s “Tradition of Excellence.”
JANUARY 29, 2016, 4:20 PM LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016, 5:10 PM
BY MARY JO LAYTON
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
The state’s largest insurer has sued Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck and The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood to halt an ad campaign the hospitals launched in protest of a new tiered health plan they say makes them look inferior.
Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey calls the advertising against its Omnia plan a “smear campaign” — one that goes so far as to say the insurer doesn’t like babies. The campaign is motivated “solely by a desire to damage Horizon financially as well as its business reputation,” the lawsuit filed this week noted.
Bruce Rosen, an attorney representing Valley and Holy Name, defended the ads on Friday. “This is a blatant attempt by Horizon to distract attention away from the potentially disastrous impact that the Omnia plan is going to have on the two hospitals, their patients and New Jersey’s health care system,” he said.
JANUARY 29, 2016 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016, 12:31 AM
BY MATTHEW SCHNEIDER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
The Ridgewood Board of Education (BOE) and Ridgewood Education Association (REA) have failed to reach a settlement despite protracted negotiations, BOE President Sheila Brogan reported during a meeting on Monday.
The two sides met on Jan. 20, and the main sticking point continued to be healthcare contributions. A new proposal presented by the school board was rejected by the REA.
Brogan said the “comprehensive” proposal addressed issues that had been raised during previous negotiation sessions and modified the district’s “original proposal in a number of significant ways.”
“Our offer was designed to address the REA’s goal of increasing the actual take-home pay of its members without jeopardizing the district’s financial position,” Brogan said.
“The REA did not respond with a comprehensive proposal of their own,” she continued. “They chose to focus only on the amounts their members contribute towards their healthcare benefits.”
REA members, however, believe that the BOE did not make a real effort to come up with terms that would be acceptable to both parties. They also said a counteroffer was not seriously considered by the board.
Spending on federal healthcare programs outpaced spending on Social Security for the first time in 2015, according to an expansive report from the congressional budget scorekeeper released Monday.
The government spent $936 billion last year on health programs including Medicare, Medicaid and subsidies related to the Affordable Care Act, a jump of 13 percent from 2014, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Spending on Social Security, in contrast, totaled $882 billion, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reported.
The swelling cost of health programs is likely to ignite an election-year debate on the right over ObamaCare and its impact on the budget.
Democrats will likely argue that the healthcare law is fiscially responsible and needs to be strengthened, in part by toughening regulations on the prescription drug industry.
The CBO report also offers a wider warning about mandatory spending programs and their growing share of the federal budget.
Spending on mandatory programs rose by $200 billion, or 9.5 percent, last year. That’s almost double the average annual rate of increase, 5.4 percent, during the previous decade.
JANUARY 11, 2016, 6:41 PM LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2016, 7:11 AM
BY LINDY WASHBURN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
New recommendations about breast cancer screening — when to start, and how often to do it — were released Monday by a federal task force, but they appear unlikely to have much influence on doctors’ practices in New Jersey.
The guidelines by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force update their previous recommendations, which led to a public outcry about rationing health care in 2009. That year’s most controversial recommendation — that women in their 40s at average risk of breast cancer should decide for themselves whether to start having screening mammograms every other year — was repeated this time.
Women in their 40s “must weigh a very important but infrequent benefit (a reduction in breast cancer deaths) against a group of meaningful and more common harms,” including callbacks for more imaging studies, biopsies for findings that turn out not to be cancer, and treatment of cancers that would not become life-threatening, the recommendations said.
