New Jersey expanded its subsidized health-insurance program and mandated that all children be provided health insurance under a law signed Tuesday.
The bill’s sponsors see it as the first step toward universal health coverage in New Jersey, an effort intended to guarantee access
to health care while relieving the pressure on hospitals to provide free care for the uninsured.
“New Jersey is taking a dramatic step forward in ensuring quality health care is a fundamental right – not a privilege – for all state residents,” said state Sen. Joseph Vitale, D-Middlesex, the bill’s sponsor.
With 1.3 million uninsured residents, New Jersey is one of 14 states attempting to expand health-care coverage in the absence of broad federal action. Three – Massachusetts, Maine and Vermont – have enacted comprehensive reforms.