BETTER CHOICES, BETTER CARE NJ LAYS OUT 15-POINT PLAN FOR LOWER COST, HIGHER QUALITY HEALTH CARE
BETTER CHOICES, BETTER CARE NJ LAYS OUT 15-POINT PLAN FOR LOWER COST, HIGHER QUALITY HEALTH CARE
Edison – Citing the chaotic landscape of the past year and the need to create less costly, higher quality health care, Better Choices, Better Care NJ today released a 15-point plan to improve health care in the state of New Jersey. The plan, “Moving New Jersey To Affordable, Quality Health Care,” lays out why these issues were selected, how leaving them unresolved negatively impacts New Jerseyans and what specific remedies are needed to fix them. Click on this link to view the report: “Moving New Jersey To Affordable, Quality Health Care.”
“This organization launched with the goal of engaging and educating the public, employers and elected representatives on how to change health care for the better,” said Chris Donnelly, spokesman for the organization. “The past year, however, has shown us that we can no longer remain on the sidelines. Health care has been a topic of intense national debate, but that debate has not yielded any significant positive policy changes or done much to lower the cost of care. With this plan, we are presenting 15 measures that we believe will actually lower costs, while providing better quality health care.”
Uncertainty from our nation’s capital has dramatically shifted the debate on and focus of health care. For example, the chaos from Washington means New Jerseyans – like many people across the country – will see dramatically higher insurance premiums in 2018. Better Choices, Better Care NJ did sound an alarm this past summer regarding Washington chaos. We warned that if our elected representatives were unable to stop the uncertainty and piecemeal approach to health care reform, there was the potential for disastrous consequences. Those predictions have, unfortunately, come to fruition.
As the landscape shifted throughout the year, Better Choices, Better Care NJ was receiving a barrage of feedback through our direct engagement with consumers. We repeatedly heard from those worried about how they would pay for their health care, or upset that a family member could not find the kind of care they needed. Given these various elements, Better Choices, Better Care NJ set out to define a series of measures that – through executive or legislative action – can help reduce the cost, but enhance the quality, of health care in New Jersey.
We examined various ways and means to meet these goals. After extensive discussion and input combined with research, we narrowed it down to 15 specific measures. We strongly believe these actions will make health care in New Jersey less costly, of higher quality and more accessible.
These measures fall under four broader categories:
- Increasing Access to Affordable, Quality Health Care
- Keeping Health Insurance Costs From Skyrocketing
- Reforming Medicaid
- Promoting Patient Centered Care
Heading into 2018 and beyond, Better Choices, Better Care NJ will be actively engaged in ensuring the ideas outlined in “Moving New Jersey To Affordable, Quality Health Care” are discussed, acted upon and implemented. Moreover, while we firmly believe these steps will vastly improve health care in the state, we will also stay focused on our goal of moving New Jersey closer to patient centered care. Our efforts to conduct consumer-driven engagement as well as consumer education will not cease. But the quickly evolving health care landscape means we all must play a more proactive part in protecting the future of health care in New Jersey.
Better Choices, Better Care NJ is a 501(c)4 public education project advocating for innovative ways to improve health, transform care and lower health care costs. For more information on Better Choices, Better Care NJ and how we can transform health care in New Jersey, log on to www.betterchoicesbettercarenj.com follow us on Twitter @BCBCNJ and like us on Facebook at Facebook.com/BetterChoicesBetterCareNJ.
