NJCTH Board of Trustees Meeting
The NJCTH Board of Trustees met on June 9, 2011 at the Woodbridge Hilton. Board Chairman, Robert Garrett, of Hackensack University Medical Center began the meeting by introducing the guests: Commissioner of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) Mary O’Dowd, Acting Deputy Commissioner DHSS Bill Conroy, Senator Jennifer Beck, and Congressman Leonard Lance who joined the conversation later in the morning.
Ms. O’Dowd began by urging the Board members to read the details of the Medicaid Waiver Concept paper to try and get behind some of the opportunities it presents for teaching hospitals. Specifically; ACO’s as a way of harnessing Medicaid beneficiaries to incentivize healthy behavior, and she pointed out the concept paper addresses the lack of appropriate payment for physicians.
Ms. O’Dowd expressed her gratitude to the group for participating in the open dialogue regarding the Administration’s expectations for the $30M increase in GME funding. Ms. O’Dowd made reference to Assemblyman Schaer’s questioning of her at the Assembly Appropriations Committee hearing on April 14, 2011. It was at that hearing she suggested, to the legislature, that the teaching hospital community, specifically NJCTH, be invited to the table to weigh in on possible initiatives, because the members of NJCTH are the innovators in this field.
Furthermore, she argued that ultimately whether budget language was inserted in the budget bill or not she expects some sort of reporting requirement to be implemented. Therefore, she suggested that the Board make recommendations as to the criteria for reporting rather than the Department of Human Services. She noted that the report will help maintain the funding in the next budget cycle and that it should be beneficial to all teaching hospitals.
Senator Beck agreed that the Council members are best suited to create the reporting criteria and she believes it will be a useful tool to educate the Legislature on GME funding.
Congressman Leonard Lance thanked the Board for meeting in the most populated township in his district, Woodbridge. Congressman Lance sits on the House Financial Services Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The Board stressed the importance of passing the CHGME bill H.R. 1852 which would reauthorize the Children's Hospitals Graduate Medical Education (CHGME) program for five years, providing $330 million each year to hospitals. In addition, recognizing an aging population and the physician shortage crisis in NJ, Representative Lance volunteered to champion these issues at the table in DC.