Assembly Bill A-2512 was to be a cost-saving measure and would have been good for the fiscal health of the state budget and the state economy. It was created to reduce current costs, shifting these costs from the private sector to the public sector, thereby saving the state money and expanding treatment access without relying on additional state resources. This cost shifting has increased costs to the state by as much as 20 percent.
With the New Jersey’s state deficit growing and the governor now looking to absurdly raise tolls in our state it’s bills like these these that could have saved him from such desperate measures.
The bill, authored by Assemblyman Robert Gordon (D-38) and co-sponsored by 38 other Assembly legislators, would have required healthinsurance plans to provide parity benefits for all mental-health disorders. There are thousands of adolescents and adults who suffer from debilitating mental illnesses and who are denied access to mental-health benefits. New Jersey’s current law does not cover illnesses such as 9/11- related post-traumatic stress disorder, eating disorders, postpartum depression, alcoholism and other substance-abuse disorders. Bill A-2512 would have revised statutory mental-health coverage requirements and require all health insurers and state health benefits programs (SHBPs) to cover treatment under the same terms and conditions as other diseases or illnesses.
Bill S-807/A2512 would have resulted in significant cost saving for public and private employers. Health-care costs declined by 40 percent for those treated for their depression and by 23-55 percent following alcohol or drug treatment. For New Jersey’s state and public employers, that represents a savings of from $56 million to $134 million in alcohol-related health-care costs alone, and for private employers a savings of more than $680 million to $1.6 billion. A-2512 represented a wise investment for the state, county and local governments, as well as small and large employers.
Unfortunately, due to reasons yet unknown to this author, the bill was never released for full vote in the Assembly, and by not doing that, the state has condemned A-2512 and its counterpart Senate legislation to start from square one again next session. What a pity.
Pete Trabucco
Old Bridge