|
This, posted early this week, is promoted by Rosi
Those of us in the medical field know that without the right diagnosis, you can't cure the real problem.
Right now, New Jersey is facing trying economic times. Our deficits are running high and most of our citizens feel overtaxed. Governor Christie was elected on this wave of economic anxiety. But this doesn't mean reducing or eliminating vital services and the people who provide those services is the right fix. In fact, it's the wrong fix for our communities and for our economy. |
| A $12.5 million cut to charity care. $1 million slashed in bio-terrorism preparedness. Millions taken from autism and cancer research and from programs for community homes for the disabled. These are just a few of the draconian measures Governor Christie is undertaking without input from our Legislators and community leaders. Christie is putting worthy causes in his cross-hairs while giving tax breaks to those making over $400,000 a year. The cuts Governor Christie is calling for will affect every single New Jersey resident - from the mother fighting breast cancer, to our first responders, to those families touched by autism. I am all in favor of trimming waste, fraud, and abuse from our State budget. But I certainly would not classify any of these areas as falling into any of those buckets.
Time and time again, we've seen a gross misdiagnosis of the cause of our economic problems. On the national level, opponents of national health care reform simply choose to ignore the direct relationship between the spiraling costs of health care, business and personal bankruptcies and the expanding profits of the insurance companies. No economy can continue to grow and create new jobs, while millions of dollars are diverted to insurance companies and millions of Americans go without health coverage. Small businesses cannot remain competitive when they have to provide health care to their employers, while their competitors do not. We simply cannot afford to allow private insurers to keep 15-20% of our healthcare dollars in profits and administrative costs as the cost of coverage skyrockets.
Governor Christie also announced a freeze in the implementation of regulations, required to implement recently passed laws, claiming they are a hindrance to business growth. These include important regulations that enforce laws protecting the safety and health of nurses and their patients - such as the Safe Patient Handling law and the Violence Prevention Act.
Again, erroneously assuming that regulations are the problem leads to the wrong diagnosis. It's clear that when workplaces are safer, injuries and associated costs with injuries go down; we keep health care workers at the bedside, and our patients are safer too.
Last year, during our Back 2 Basics campaign, we fought to put patient care before profits, and I think that fight foreshadowed the budget fights the progressive community will have with Governor Christie over budget decisions for the next 4 years. Of course there are ways to reign in the budget - such as getting government authority spending under control, making programs more efficient and reeling in exorbitant salaries for higher level government officials. But we cannot stand idly by as hospital and important research funding gets slashed, and the working conditions of our state's nurses and public health care workers get attacked.
This year, HPAE will move forward, not backward, in our fight for quality health care. We will not give up on the battle for the rights of our members to decent wages, benefits and safe working conditions. We continue to demand that our hospitals be held accountable, that a standard be set for safe staffing and that funding to our hospitals and healthcare institutions be provided at a level that enables us to provide the care our communities need and deserve.
In the coming months, HPAE members will be testifying on important legislation and budget items. I hope we can continue to count on your voices, advocacy, and support in protecting New Jersey's patients and work force. |
