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Though the future of the Affordable Care Act is currently unknown following the presidential election, Rutgers University is staying the course in the rollout of a Certified Health Care Manager program — which the university is touting as the first of its kind in the country.The 30-module course, which will only span three semesters for those interested, is geared to train health care managers to understand the ACA, as well as other changing trends in health care administration.
“How health care providers are paid for services has vastly changed,” said Bill Castellano, associate dean of executive and professional education at the Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations. “Payments are based on performance on a number of measures, including quality of service, cost and patient satisfaction. These new measurable performance criteria have required many providers to significantly transform how they organize work, measure and pay for performance, and manage staff.”
The school conducted more than a dozen focus group sessions with health care leaders to determine the new competencies needed to comply with the ACA, Rutgers said in a statement.
“We’ve been offering management development programs to clients for many years,” Castellano said. “We’ve been continuing to have conversations with health care providers and need to have solutions to problems the providers are facing.”
Albert Heuer, director of the master of science in health care, said that, over the past 15 years, health care has gotten very complex and new, dramatic concepts have been introduced.
“But people doing middle management positions, they are clinicians but do not have the skills or the tools in their toolbox to meet the challenges,” Heuer said.
The transformational change has sped up in recent years because of the ACA, the same way other businesses change rapidly due to technology and demographics.
“It is a challenge,” Heuer said. “It’s not like teaching 18th century poetry. It’s a dynamic industry. Provisions of the ACA are still unfurling as we speak.”
And the course will change to adapt to whatever changes face the industry, Castellano said.
“We’re excited to partner with the School of Management and Labor Relations to offer this ground-breaking program,” said Gwendolyn Mahon, dean of the Rutgers School of Health
Professions. “Developing new programs such as this one takes us to another level in ensuring our students are equipped to meet the challenges of 21st century health care.”
Beginning in February, the first section begins weekly evening sessions and lasts until May 24, 2017.
Tag: South Jersey
NJBIZ stories taking place in and involving South Jersey businesses, companies and business news.
Christie reverses course on ending Pa. reciprocal tax agreement
After announcing in September that he planned to end a nearly 40-year old reciprocal tax agreement between New Jersey and Pennsylvania, Gov. Chris Christie reversed course Tuesday and now plans on keeping it intact.
In a statement, Christie said his administration was able to “save” the agreement due to a bipartisan bill he signed into law Monday that calls for adjustments to the state’s pharmacy benefits system.
Christie said the bill will lead to over $200 million in new savings for taxpayers, making the reciprocal tax agreement viable again.
In place since 1977, the agreement allows commuters between the two states to pay the tax rate in their home state.
“This action will save state taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars in health care benefit costs, and I’m proud my administration was again able to work with elected officials from both sides of the aisle and many labor union representatives to achieve these savings,” Christie said Tuesday. “By addressing a potential $250 million budget deficit from growing health care costs, we are now able to save an income tax reciprocity agreement with Pennsylvania that protects tens of thousands of hard working New Jerseyans from having to pay more income taxes.”
Christie’s initial plan to scrap the agreement was met with hard criticism from Democrats on both sides of the Delaware River, with a spokesperson for Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf saying at the time that Christie seemed “committed to making Pennsylvania and our residents working in New Jersey suffer the consequences of his failure to enact a responsible budget.”
State Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-West Deptford), U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross (D-Cherry Hill) and Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald (D-Voorhees) held a news conference in West Deptford to address Christie’s decision.
Sweeney had previously said that, by his calculations, ending the agreement would have led to more than 100,000 people paying over $1,000 more annually in taxes.
“We need agreements like this,” Greenwald said. “We need thoughtful public policy.”
Norcross said he spoke with Subaru of America President and Chief Operating Officer Thomas Doll on Tuesday morning and was reassured that the company “has recommitted to start their construction again” on a new national headquarters complex in Camden.
In October, Doll told The Philadelphia Inquirer that Subaru, which formally broke ground on the site on Campbell Soup Co.-owned land in the city’s Gateway District last December, was in the process of re-evaluating its construction plans after being “blindsided” by Christie’s plan to end the tax agreement.
Subaru initially chose to move its headquarters from Cherry Hill to Camden after securing approval in 2014 for a $118 million Grow New Jersey award from the state Economic Development Authority. The company planned on creating 100 new jobs at the site in addition to the relocation and retention of another 500 state-based employees. The EDA has previously estimated the project’s net benefit to yield roughly $168 million back to the state over a 35-year period.
“They were stopping,” Sweeney said of Subaru. “It wasn’t a bluff.”
With several other large projects in the pipeline for South Jersey, given the influx of state incentives and other factors, putting the agreement back on the table not only helps those who have already committed to the area, but those companies that might be eyeing a move, as well.
“Not only does it impact those who already made the decision, but now there’s predictability going forward,” Norcross said.
Chamber of Commerce Southern New Jersey CEO and President Debra DiLorenzo said Tuesday’s development was “wonderful news for our state and region” and thanked state leaders from both sides of the aisle for coming together on the issue.
“They said they would find a way to do it and they did,” DiLorenzo said.
For South Jersey region, an optimistic nonmanufacturing report
According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s November Nonmanufacturing Business Outlook Survey, business activity continued to expand at a modest pace in the region that includes South Jersey.The survey suggests that business activity continued to expand at a modest pace, while its firm-level indicator of general activity remained steady. It also indicated that the indexes for new orders and sales and revenues increased.
Employment indexes also imply expansion in employment for both full-time and part-time employees. Expectations for growth over the next six months are optimistic.
According to the survey, almost 41 percent of the firms reported an increase in activity at their business. Despite this optimism, firms also signaled a weakening in their perception of current regional economic activity.
The report indicated that the regional activity index fell nearly 11 points, to 10.6, after averaging 19 points over the previous six months.
Conversely, the sales and revenues index increased 11 points, to 17.2. Thirty-nine percent of the firms indicated an increase in sales/revenues in November, compared with 32 percent last month.
Coscia named chairman of Sun National Bank, holding company
Mount Laurel-based Sun Bancorp Inc. has elected prominent New Jersey attorney and Amtrak Chairman Anthony Coscia the independent chairman of the holding company and its subsidiary Sun National Bank.The bank said Tuesday in a news release that Coscia, a partner with Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf LLP, has been a director of the holding company since 2010 and the bank since 2011.
“We are proud to have Tony Coscia ascend to the chairmanship of the company and bank,” CEO and President Thomas M. O’Brien said in a prepared statement. “Tony is well-respected and experienced in matters of corporate governance, finance and economic development. All of our stakeholders are well-served by this appointment, and we are fortunate that Tony has agreed to undertake this new responsibility.”
Coscia is replacing Chairman Sidney R. Brown, who is stepping down as chairman effective Dec. 31, but remaining a director of both the company and the bank.
“I am pleased and honored to assume the board chairman’s role at the company and bank,” Coscia said in a statement. “We have a very strong and committed board and management, and I accept my selection as chairman with deep gratitude. The story at Sun Bancorp is exciting and holds much promise. I will enjoy working with the company’s leadership and shareholders in this new capacity.”
Sun Bancorp is a $2.2 billion asset bank holding company, whose Sun National Bank serves customers throughout New Jersey and in metro New York.
Coscia was recently named to the NJBIZ Power 75 Real Estate list.
Tory Burch approved for 10.7M in incentives for Jersey City project
New York-based clothing and accessory brand Tory Burch received approval last week from the state Economic Development Authority for a 10-year, $10.7 million Grow New Jersey award to relocate office space currently in Manhattan to a 92,750-square-foot facility on Washington Boulevard in Jersey City.The company is said to also be considering a 93,417-square-foot space in Brooklyn.
The project would bring 102 relocated full-time jobs to Jersey City and create another 37 positions.
According to the EDA, the project would yield a net benefit of $30.1 million back to the state over a 20-year period.
Also receiving approval for a sizeable award was Brooklyn-based flexible hose and electrical conduit manufacturer Superflex, which was approved for a 10-year, $10 million Grow New Jersey award to lease a 75,000-square-foot facility on South First Street in Elizabeth.
Superflex, which would bring 100 full-time jobs with it to New Jersey, is also considering a location of comparable size in Islandia, New York.
The EDA estimates that the project would yield a net benefit of $16.3 million back to the state over 20 years.
Other awards approved Thursday include:
Company: LBU Inc.
Service: Sewn product manufacturer and designer
Location: Paterson
Award: 10-year, $8.4 Grow NJ
Benefit: $7.4 million to the state over 30 years
Notable: Would create 30 full-time jobs, retain 30 full-time jobs
Company: Pepco Manufacturing Co.
Service: Sheet metal fabrication manufacturer
Location: Somerdale
Award: 10-year, $1.75 million Grow NJ
Benefit: $17.9 million to the state over 20 years
Notable: Would create 11 full-time jobs, retain 70 full-time jobs
Real Estate Power 75 Changing times
The times are changing in New Jersey real estate. This means big changes in the NJBIZ Real Estate Power List, too, including an increase in the number of honorees from 50 to 75. To see who made it, read on.
The longtime real estate leader in the state was talking about a long-ago conversation he had with Michael McGuiness, the head of the New Jersey chapter of NAIOP.
“It was five years ago,” the insider said. “I told him, ‘Just you watch, your membership is going to change. Real estate in New Jersey is changing. I bet five years from now you’ll have a turnover of 50 percent of your members.’”
The insider was talking about trends he saw developing and facts that couldn’t be denied:
The rise of new asset classes; land becoming less affordable (or even buildable); the growth of large, out-of-state corporations that could afford what was left; a rise in private companies that could handle buy-and-hold properties free of a push from Wall Street to show a quick profit.
This thought leader has proved to be prescient. And the insider was wrong about just one thing: The change wasn’t limited to just the real estate industry.
There has been a major disruption in the NJBIZ Real Estate Power List, too.
The biggest change is obvious. Now in its seventh year, we have increased the number of honorees from 50 to 75.
The switch is an acknowledgement that too many top players in the industry, often working in the shadow of icons, were being omitted merely because of space, not because of authority.
And the extra spots also allowed to us to include more of the power players who help the industry grow, but are not necessarily developers. You’ll see more brokers, more lawyers, more financiers, more asset classes (retail gets a greater look this year) and more of the people who help the industry churn.
We’ve even got room for a residential agent who is stunning in her success, despite (at 36) being a full generation (or two) behind some of the other honorees.
Which brings up the biggest point: a shift in generations.
For the past few years, more and more insiders have been suggesting it’s time to take a look at the next generation of leaders in the industry.
In some cases, these leaders are family members. The biggest switch comes at The Hampshire Cos., where Jimmy Hanson is ranked ahead of his father, Jon Hanson, for the first time.
This should not be viewed as a drop in stature for Jon Hanson, who is still very much the godfather of New Jersey real estate. (“The oracle” is how one insider described him.) But it is an acknowledgement that the well-regard Jimmy Hanson is in day-to-day control of the immensely influential operation.
There are more first-time members of the Top 10 than ever before. More diversity than ever before. And yes, more women. The industry is evolving.
After reading the list, some may say the biggest change is at the top.
In the past two power lists, the No. 1 selection has represented a major trend in the industry, rather than a hard-core, nuts-and-bolts member. This year’s No. 1 is as solid and well-respected an industry icon as anyone: Ron Ladell, the New Jersey head of Avalon Bay.
Having people such as Ladell on the list is something that will never change.
Click below to find out who made the list:
NJBIZ Power 75: No. 75 to No. 51 (click here)
NJBIZ Power 75: No 50 to No. 26 (click here)
NATC leases Class A office space in Mount Laurel
Wolf Commercial Real Estate announced Friday it has represented North American Title Co. in leasing a Class A office space in Mount Laurel.NATC selected the 5,000-square-foot space located in the Century Corporate Center at 200 Century Parkway “due to its excellent location off of Fellowship Road, Route 73 immediate access to I-295, the New Jersey Turnpike and convenient access to all points in southern New jersey and Philadelphia,” it said.
The office building is owned and operated by Needleman Management.
Leor Hemo, executive vice president of WCRE, represented the tenant in this transaction. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Women have accomplished so much in politics so far Now, let’s make even more milestones
Hillary Clinton was the first female presidential nominee of a major political party in the United States.Hillary Clinton was the first female presidential nominee of a major political party in the United States.
Her defeat does not change the incredible magnitude of that accomplishment.
Neither does the success of Hammonton native Kellyanne Conway, the first woman in U.S. history to run a Republican general election presidential campaign.
‘Breaking Glass,’ regardless of results, is about jumping into the arena in the first place and saying, “I belong here just as much as he does.”
Here are the names of a few other women in the political arena who have done so this year, according to Self.com:
- Catherine Cortez Masto: the first Latina senator;
- Tammy Duckworth: the first female senator to have seen combat and the first Thai-American woman in Congress;
- Kamala Harris: the first Indian-American senator and the first woman and minority to have held the position of attorney general in California;
- Pramila Jayapal: the first Indian-American woman and the first person of South Asian descent to be elected to the House of Representatives;
- Stephanie Murphy: the first Vietnamese-American woman to get elected to Congress;
- Ilhan Omar: the first Somali-American Muslim female legislator in Minnesota;
- Kate Brown: the first openly LGBT elected governor in Oregon and in the U.S.
According to the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, 104 women — 78 Democrats, 26 Republicans — will serve in the 115th Congress. And only one woman has won a gubernatorial race so far this year: incumbent Kate Brown (D-OR).
That means less than 20 percent of a legislature that governs a population that is 51 percent female will be women.
Let us all work collectively to change that. Here are some good places to start:
- Emerge New Jersey is the premier training program for Democratic women in 15 states.
- The New Jersey Federation of Republican Women encourages women to participate in the activities and goals of the Republican Party in both the state and nationwide.
- The Women’s Political Caucus of New Jersey is dedicated to increasing women’s participation in the political process, increasing the number of women in elected and appointed office, protecting reproductive freedom, and creating a women’s political power base to achieve equality for all women.
- The League of Women Voters of New Jersey advocates for certain legislation after careful study and consensus of their members.
Miami lawyers roll out litigation insurance in New Jersey
Justin Leto and Larry Bassuk were two trial attorneys in Miami when, from experience, they saw a need for a service: litigation insurance.So, the law partners created the first and only insurance solution for plaintiffs’ attorneys and litigants covering litigation costs in the event of a trial loss in the nation.
It’s now available in New Jersey, through their company Level Insurance.
“What we’re doing is expanding it across the country based on demand and New Jersey happened to have a significant demand, so we immediately expanded to New Jersey and now we’re in 10 states total,” Leto said.
The service was meant, specifically, to address the rising costs for litigation.
“Businesses that have to pay for litigation are experiencing a lot of pain because of rising litigation costs; in particular, the cost of e-discovery,” Bassuk said. “I know, as a commercial litigator, the costs of dealing with e-discovery are astronomical.
“It’s a seven-figure cost.”
Along with e-discovery, Litigation Cost Protection is available for most tort claims and contract actions, and provides reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses paid to further the litigation, which includes expert witness fees, travel, court reporters, trial exhibits and courtroom technology and exhibits.
Coverage is currently available for eligible cases filed in all 50 state’s courts and in United States District Court cases in all 50 states.
Coverage limits range from $3,500 to $250,000, while policy premium (exclusive of taxes and fees) is always 7 percent of the total coverage amount regardless of the type of case.
“I can tell you New Jersey lawyers seem very excited about it,” Leto said. “And, as far as Jersey businesses are concerned, if they’re involved in high-stakes litigation and they have to pay lawyers both the fees and the costs, it makes a lot of sense for them to hedge a portion of that bet so their business can feel more comfortable about spending that kind of money.”
Christie unexpectedly takes Guadagno’s keynote speaking spot at League of Municipalities conference
As she has done in years past, Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno was scheduled to give the keynote address Thursday afternoon at a luncheon on the third and final day of the annual New Jersey State League of Municipalities conference in Atlantic City.But Guadagno instead yielded the floor to Gov. Chris Christie, who surprisingly added the event to his public schedule the night before.
Late to the event, Christie showed up to offer remarks on his recent decision to sign a 23-cent-per-gallon gas tax increase in order to replenish the Transportation Trust Fund, a move that Guadagno, seated just three seats to the right of Christie, publicly opposed.
“My successor, whoever they are, will not have to worry about funding the Transportation Trust Fund,” said Christie.
Christie added to Guadagno that, while unpopular, raising the gas tax was the right thing to do.
“It was time for real leaders to stop playing politics and make hard decisions,” Christie said.
The governor also talked up the recently passed ballot question that plans to dedicate all funds raised by the gas tax hike to the Transportation Trust Fund, saying that supporting the measure was one of the “difficult decisions” that “second-term governors are built to make.”
“I don’t have to pretend that it’s bad policy to dedicate a tax for the very purpose that the tax is paid for,” Christie said.
Guadagno, who is heavily rumored to be prepping for a gubernatorial bid and said Thursday that she will make a decision “after the holidays,” also publicly disagreed with Christie on the ballot question, saying that supporting it was the same as “a vote for the gas tax.”
Without naming Guadagno, Christie criticized opponents of the question for looking to “play politics.”
Throughout the week, conference-goers have speculated on the futures of both Christie and Guadagno, with many wondering if the governor will leave the state if tapped to serve in President-elect Donald Trump’s upcoming administration, leaving Guadagno to ascend to the office should Christie resign.
Christie said that, while he’s not sure about what the future holds, he currently has no plans to leave New Jersey.
“I have every intention of serving out my full time as governor,” Christie said.
Guadagno, who also publicly distanced herself from Christie on his support for Trump, whom she said she would not vote for, was asked by reporters following the speech if she felt Christie was speaking indirectly to her.
“Certainly, it’s a well-publicized disagreement that we have over parts of the gas tax,” Guadagno said. “I think he also said that he respected everyone’s difference of opinion.”
Guadagno added that, despite the unforeseen schedule change, she does still “fully intend to make the speech I wanted to today sometime in the very near future.”
“I’m going to give it to the appropriate people at the appropriate time,” Guadagno said. “I’m hoping that the mayors invite me to speak to them.”
She added that she thought Christie made a “fabulous speech.”
“It was a fabulous opportunity for the governor to talk to the municipalities and make his argument about the TTF,” Guadagno said.
South Jersey manufacturing report highlights cautious optimism
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s November Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey suggests that manufacturing activity in the region that includes South Jersey has continued to expand.This analysis comes as indexes for general activity, new orders and shipments all remained positive this month. Despite this, labor market conditions remained weak, the study said. As a result of this and higher prices, outlooks for the next six months — while remaining positive — were less optimistic than last month.
“Nearly 36 percent of the firms expect increases in activity over the next six months, lower than the 45 percent that expected increases last month,” the study said.
Similarly, firms reported an overall decrease in employment from October. According to the study, 20 percent of firms reported a decrease in employment in November compared with 18 percent in October.
The study also said the future employment index also fell 14 points, with 25 percent of the manufacturers saying they expect to expand employment over the next six months.
Thirteen percent plan to reduce employment.
Grapevine Notes and quotes from Day 2 of the League of Municipalities Conference
There were a lot of people in at the League of Municipalities convention in Atlantic City willing to talk about business and politics Wednesday — especially if it was without attribution, considering the nature of the subjects. Grapevine allowed them that vehicle.
Out of network
There is frustration among the health care provider community that in the debate of out of network, there isn’t a demand for fairer across-the-board rates and attention to coverage loopholes which leave patients vulnerable to high costs.
“We are waiting for out of network to get resolved first. Once it’s resolved, there are other things that can get attention, and can create better relationships for in-network providers.”
NJHA party
There were a few raised eyebrows for the party hosted Wednesday by the New Jersey Hospital Association, a first for the organization. In line with other firsts, attendees of the NJLM conference said it showed a shift in focus of issues in the state.
“There are so many issues now so I think they want to be front and center.” Said another source. “With the property tax issue, this seems like a good way to get the elected officials of the towns in the same place as the hospitals. Maybe nothing gets resolved overnight, but it’s a start.”
Presidential election and health care
Will there be — and should there be — changes to the ACA. It’s still to early to say, one insider said.
“So many more people in New Jersey are insured, I think we are down to the 9 percent range, but that means they are all showing up to the hospital insured. I think all of the charity are has gone down significantly. We had (prior to the ACA) coverage up to 31 (for children on their parents’ plan) forget 26, we had all the good stuff. Almost everyone was in one of the essential benefits plans, the only reason they were as cheap as they were was because they were based on gender, so a 29 year-old guy was cheaper than a 31 year-old woman because the woman can get pregnant. So we had an uninsured rate of 20 percent before the mandate. They also haven’t made any comments on the Medicaid expansion, so we don’t know what that’s going to look like.”
Question of the day: What does New Jersey need to do to grow business?
Response No. 1: “Regulation is one thing they talk about constantly. We don’t do a good job, when the regulations come, of looking at the impact on small businesses.”
Response No. 2: “New Jersey needs to make sure they have a governor who is willing to go around and listen to what the needs are of the various niche industries. Whether it’s the pharmacies, the lottery issue and how many people it affects, prison re-entry issues. In New Jersey we need to focus on re-training people.”
Response No. 3: “Streamline the business approval process. It takes too long now.”
Response No. 4: “Lower business tax and lower personal income tax. That will help.”
Response No. 5: “Elect Phil Murphy.”
Andrew George, Anjalee Khemlani and Tom Bergeron contributed to this report from Atlantic City.