HFMA NEWS

Responding to concerns about access to care and the poor financial health of many New Jersey hospitals, Governor Jon S. Corzine has signed a package of four bills designed to limit hospital charges to the uninsured and enhance financial oversight of the state's hospitals. 

One bill requires hospitals to charge no more than 15 percent above the Medicare rate; uninsured families qualify for this rate if their income is less than 500 percent of the federal poverty level. Two other bills are designed to improve financial oversight and management of hospitals. One of these bills implements an early warning system to monitor/audit hospital finances, identify distressed hospitals early, and institute a system of progressive monitoring, in response to “epidemic of hospital closures in recent years.” The other bill requires that all general hospital trustees complete comprehensive training to ensure effective financial oversight and to hold hospital management accountable. As a result, New Jersey is now the first State to require hospital trustee training for all board members. The final bill in the package attempts to improve community-hospital communication by requiring each hospital to annually conduct a public meeting for the community it serves.

The New Jersey Hospital Association calls the bills a step toward healthcare reform, but Association President and CEO Betsy Ryan points out, “The larger challenges that plague our healthcare system still await action, such as inadequate payments to hospitals and physicians, the rash of hospital closures and continued concerns over access to care.”

Read statements from the New Jersey Office of the Governor and the New Jersey Hospital Association.

Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty has proposed giving all Minnesotans access to a secure and portable online personal health portfolio by 2011, starting with one for each of the state’s approximately 50,000 employees in 2009.

The online portfolios are designed to help control costs, increase quality, and enhance safety by allowing consumers to access and coordinate their health information and make appropriate parts of that information available to those who need it. Health information such as prescription history, immunizations, lab results, and other medical records from providers and health plans are stored in a system and accessed by consumers once they create their personal portfolio.

The personal health portfolio is one of several initiatives the governor recently announced to empower healthcare consumers. In addition, Minnesota’s private health plans have agreed to provide pricing and quality data on a single website; the state will provide up to $250 in a health reimbursement account for all state employees who elect to receive their care from high-quality, low-cost providers; and the Minnesota Department of Health will gather input from Minnesotans on the healthcare system and how they can be more engaged in healthcare decision-making.

Read the statement from the Minnesota Office of the Governor.