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NJ Needs to Speed Up Efforts to Create Exchange
August 10, 2011
Statement from Blair Horner, Vice President of Advocacy, American Cancer Society of NY & NJ, regarding the Rutgers Center for State Health Policy report on the NJ Health Insurance Exchange
“Surviving cancer often depends on whether a person has health insurance and the quality of that coverage. That's why the American Cancer Society has been engaged in efforts to establish a robust health insurance exchange in New Jersey. Establishing a strong health insurance exchange is a top priority for the American Cancer Society because about 1 in 10 cancer patients are uninsured.
Momentum has been building: 11 states have created exchanges and the New Jersey Assembly has passed exchange legislation. Today’s report marks an important milestone toward the establishment of an exchange that will make health insurance available to those who need it in New Jersey.
The exchange can offer affordable and high quality health insurance to the nearly 1.5 million uninsured New Jersey residents and small businesses currently priced out of the market. Federal law requires each state to establish an exchange and empowers the federal government to establish an exchange in states that fail to take action. Failure to act could cost the state millions of dollars in federal aid that would underwrite the cost of the exchange.
The American Cancer Society urges Governor Christie and state lawmakers to work together to establish a strong health insurance exchange that meets the needs of cancer patients.”
Additionally, a New Jersey health insurance exchange must address these important issues:
• Exchange governance: The exchange governance boards should be structured so that board members do not have conflicts of interest.
• The outside market: The rules for the insurance market outside the exchanges should complement those that apply inside the exchanges so that outside plans cannot sell policies under more favorable terms and cherry pick the healthiest consumers.
• Integration with Medicaid: State Medicaid programs should be well integrated with the exchanges to ensure seamless enrollment for those most in need.
• Administrative simplicity for consumers: Exchanges should make information such as premium rates, benefits and enrollment forms easily available to consumers.
• Purchasing authority: Exchanges should be empowered to select which plans they offer and to limit exchange participation to high quality plans.
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About the American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society combines an unyielding passion with nearly a century of experience to save lives and end suffering from cancer. As a global grassroots force of more than three million volunteers, we fight for every birthday threatened by every cancer in every community. We save lives by helping people stay well by preventing cancer or detecting it early; helping people get well by being there for them during and after a cancer diagnosis; by finding cures through investment in groundbreaking discovery; and by fighting back by rallying lawmakers to pass laws to defeat cancer and by rallying communities worldwide to join the fight. As the nation’s largest non-governmental investor in cancer research, contributing more than $3.4 billion, we turn what we know about cancer into what we do. As a result, more than 11 million people in America who have had cancer and countless more who have avoided it will be celebrating birthdays this year. To learn more about us or to get help, call us any time, day or night, at 1-800-227-2345 or visit cancer.org.