Updates from Executive Director Michele Guhl

August 29, 2007

With our three public hearings now concluded, I wish to thank all those who attended, and especially all those who provided testimony. Many important issues were raised and many recommendations proffered. Of course our website will be kept up and running throughout the life of the Commission. Please do not hesitate to share your issues, concerns and suggestions.

The six subcommittees are nearing their completion as well. Each will generate a report for the full Commission’s consideration.

Our consultant, Navigant Consulting, Inc., is also busily completing its work in providing additional data and analyses per the scope of work assigned to them.

Recently the health insurance industry presented at a Commission meeting; future meetings will include presentations on mental health/substance abuse issues with a focus on the role of acute care hospitals, as well as presentations from representatives of ambulatory care and imaging centers.

As our work continues, we are striving to complete our Final Report to the Governor on time, that is, by December 1 of this year.

Thank you for your ongoing interest in our efforts.

April 20, 2007 Update

Much has happened since my last update.  Sadly, as everyone is undoubtedly aware, the Governor sustained serious injuries in an automobile accident; he remains in critical, yet stable, condition.  We are deeply concerned for his well-being and wish his recovery to be as speedy as possible.  Meanwhile, the Governor’s administration is committed to carrying on the ongoing and significant work of running our state.

Governor Corzine attended our last Commission meeting, underscoring the importance of the tasks with which this group has been charged.  Important to note is the fact that, notwithstanding a due date of December 1, 2007 for the Commission’s final report, the Governor has asked for an interim report by the end of May.  The purpose of this interim report is to help inform decision-making for the upcoming budget year, commencing July 1, 2007.  It will be focused primarily on NJ’s hospitals, with the significantly broader study of our overall health care system to be addressed in the final report.

The interim report will respond to certain of the tasks assigned to the Commission as detailed in Executive Order 39.  Specifically, this report will detail:  the financial viability of each hospital in the state; the identification of essential acute care hospitals; the determination of appropriate geographical regions throughout the state for the assessment of access to medical care; and the projected demand for hospital and other services in each region in 5 and 10 years.

Important for your review are the analytic framework and criteria which have been proposed by our consultants, Navigant Consulting, Inc., based on discussions to date with Commission members and senior staff of appropriate state departments.  The proposed framework and criteria are meant to be the starting point for focused deliberations, not our final determinations.  Accordingly, I ask that you send any comments/concerns to my attention (either directly or via the “contact us” section of this web site) no later than Friday, May 11.

The following is Navigant’s suggested methodology:

• Proposed Framework for Evaluating Hospitals Essentiality and Financial Viability [pdf 103k]
  
• Proposed Criteria for Identifying Essential Hospital [pdf 102k]
• Proposed Criteria for Measuring Hospital Financial Viability [pdf 99k]

Commission members look forward to your reactions to this important framework and attendant criteria.  I shall provide, through a future update, the approved measures once finalized.

On another note, expect regular updates on our subcommittee structure and process in the near future.

March 26, 2007 Update

Welcome to this website, designed both to inform you and to solicit your opinions on matters of interest to the Commission.

There has been, understandably, much interest in this Commission and its progress in developing a state plan to help inform health care policy and resource allocation.

While the group’s charge is broad and, in fact, a bit daunting, the Governor is to be commended for his vision; and for directing a group of health care experts -- with ample input from interested groups and the general public -- to develop a plan assessing New Jersey’s current and future health care needs, so that policy-makers may have the benefit of reasoned analyses and sound data to guide their decisions.

We are striving collectively for one goal -- to ensure that the state’s supply of health care services is best configured to meet community needs for high-quality, affordable and accessible care.

That said, what has the Commission been up to thus far?

First of all, because we were not up and running until early in the calendar year, the Governor has allowed extra time for the Commission’s fact-gathering, deliberations and recommendations.  Rather than completing the plan by June 1 of this year, the Commission will continue its work over the summer with an anticipated end date of December 1 or earlier.

Additionally, we have contracted with Navigant Consulting to do much of the initial data-gathering, particularly in the areas of acute care hospital financial data as well as projections of demand for hospital, ambulatory care and physician services.

While the Commission as a whole meets approximately monthly, we are also about to begin our process of studying specific areas of interest and  obtaining input from outside experts and community-based groups.  In order to do that, we have developed six subcommittees:

• Access and Equity for the Medically Underserved
• Benchmarking for Efficiency and Quality
• Infrastructure of Health Care Delivery (includes information technology issues)
• Reimbursement/Payers
• Regulatory and Legal Reform
• Hospital/Physician Relations and Practice Efficiency.

Each subcommittee will be comprised of Commission members and members representing outside organizations/interested parties.  (Much more to follow soon regarding these subcommittees!)

The Commission will also hold public hearings throughout the state, as another vehicle to gather public input.  (These public hearings are not yet scheduled.  When they are, they will be posted on this site.)

And, of course, we have developed this website, where we are posting reports, white papers and other research sent to the Commission, news releases and articles.  More importantly, the site provides you an opportunity to communicate with us.

A state health plan cannot be generated in a vacuum. For it to be a valuable, relevant tool, and not a static dust-gathering tome, it must have grown in the open air with the nourishment of democratically exchanged ideas.

On behalf of Chairman Uwe Reinhardt and the entire Commission, I invite you to be a part of our important efforts.

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