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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)