New Jersey Lawmakers Have Opportunities to Save Lives and Money Through Improving Access to Affordable Health Coverage, Tobacco Control and Quality of Life Measures
TRENTON, NJ – August 3, 2017 – New Jersey is falling short when it comes to supporting policies and passing legislation to prevent and reduce suffering and death from cancer. According to the latest edition of How Do You Measure Up?: A Progress Report on State Legislative Activity to Reduce Cancer Incidence and Mortality, New Jersey measured up to policy recommendations in just four of the nine issue areas ranked. The report was released today by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN).
“This 15th edition of the report shows just how far we’ve come in the last decade and a half passing policies proven to reduce suffering and death from cancer. But now is certainly not the time to rest on our laurels,” said Brian Shott, ACS CAN New Jersey Government Relations Director. “This year alone in New Jersey almost 52,000 people will be diagnosed with cancer. We owe it to them and everyone at risk of developing the disease, to do what we know works to prevent cancer and improve access to screenings and treatment. This report shows lawmakers a legislative path forward to improve cancer prevention efforts, curb tobacco use, prioritize the quality of life for patients and their families and increase access to critical health coverage.”
How Do You Measure Up? rates states in nine specific areas of public policy that can help fight cancer, including smoke-free laws, cigarette tax levels, funding for tobacco prevention and cessation programs and cessation coverage under Medicaid, funding for cancer screening programs and restricting indoor tanning devices for minors. The report also looks at whether a state has passed policies proven to increase patient quality of life and offers a well-balanced approach to pain medications.
Additionally, the report offers a blueprint for how New Jersey can work within the current federal health care law on a state-based approach to improving access to affordable and adequate health coverage for cancer patients and their families. It outlines opportunities to increase provider network adequacy, protect patients from surprise costs and increase access to care through Medicaid—and details the negative financial and human impact if New Jersey fails to take action in these areas. For example, currently 31 states have increased access to health coverage through their state’s Medicaid program, as allowed through current law. New Jersey was a leader in this area – the state broadened access to Medicaid that has resulted in more than approximately 500,000 state residents gaining access to adequate and affordable health care coverage.
Passing and implementing the policy recommendations in the report would not only save lives in New Jersey, but also save millions in long-term health care costs and in some cases would even generate additional, much-needed revenue.
A color-coded system classifies how well a state is doing in each issue. Green shows that a state has adopted evidence-based policies and best practices; yellow indicates moderate movement toward the benchmark and red shows where states are falling short.
How New Jersey Measures Up:
Cigarette Tax Rates Green
Smoke-free Laws Green
Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Program Funding Black (because New Jersey has allocated less than one percent of CDC recommendation)
Medicaid Coverage of Tobacco Cessation Services Red
Indoor Tanning Device Use Restrictions Red
Increased Access to Medicaid Green
Pain Policy Red
Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program Funding Green
Access to Palliative Care Yellow
Earlier this week the Assembly passed A3338, which would dedicate one percent, approximately $7 million, of cigarette and tobacco tax dollars, to the New Jersey tobacco control program. This action concurred with amendments made by Governor Christie’s conditional veto of the earlier version of the bill. The conditional veto simply sent the legislation back to the Assembly and the Senate with a later date of implementation. The new date of implementation would be July 1, 2018. We look forward to the passage of this bill by the Senate and enactment by Governor Christie.
“As advocates, we have the opportunity to work with our state legislators on implementing policies and programs that prevent and treat cancer,” said ACS CAN Volunteer Mary Hess of Morristown. “Together, we can build stronger, healthier communities and ensure New Jerseyans have access to measures that prevent disease before it occurs, ultimately saving more lives from cancer.”
Nationally, the report finds that increased access to health coverage through Medicaid is the most met benchmark, with 32 states, including the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam, having broadened Medicaid eligibility to cover individuals under 138 percent of the federal poverty line. Smoke-free legislation is the second-most met benchmark with 26 states, including the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands, considered “doing well.”
To view the complete report and details on New Jersey’s grades, visit www.fightcancer.org.