Corzine Signs Health Insurance Bill

Gov. Jon Corzine today signed a bill (S-1557) that makes more parents eligible for the state program that provides free and subsidized health insurance to low-income families. It expands the eligibility for NJ FamilyCare to parents in households that earn up to double the poverty level, which is approximately $42,000. "This is a very important, pragmatic doable step on a way to universal access," Gov. Jon S. Corzine recently told NJBIZ.

While the program's eligibly for children remains at 350 percent of poverty level, the bill for the first time mandates that parents enroll their children. The bill also establishes new private healthinsurance market reforms designed to lower the premiums for small businesses and individual policy holders.

About 90,000 parents would be eligible for NJ FamilyCare under the new legislation. The bill's chief sponsor, Sen. Joseph Vitale (D-Middlesex), said he expects about a quarter of them to sign up the first year. The bill increases state spending by $8.3 million—which generates matching federal dollars, to expand the FamilyCare program. It also calls for spending another $1 million for advertising the new eligibility requirements.

There are 1.3 million uninsured people in New Jersey, primarily because the skyrocketing cost of health insurance is difficult to afford, Vitale said. Of the $1.3 million uninsured, he estimates that 400,000 parents and children would be eligible for the new family care program, 300,000 are undocumented; and 600,000 simply can’t afford it and don’t qualify for subsidies.

news source : http://www.njbiz.com/