Greg Bean

Coda

Gov's hospital bed tax

is a ludicrous plan

I appreciate new Gov. Jon Corzine's predicament. He came into office faced with a financial mess of astronomic proportions and now has to close a $4 billion budget gap by July 1.

But like too many politicians, he has so far seemed reluctant to take the steps managers in the private sector would take in the same situation. Faced with that budget gap in the private sector, a manager would look at ways of reducing costs, either in the realm of programs and services, or personnel. We've read about hundreds of thousands of layoffs in the private sector over the last few years, as companies struggle to operate in the black - and we've read countless stories about reduced services, consolidations and closings of departments or locations that aren't making the grade. Those decisions are never pleasant, but they are often necessary for the company's survival.

But like too many politicians, Corzine seems to lack the will to take those steps, and is relying - for the large part - on raising every tax he can lay his hands on.

Some of those tax increases make sense, but the suggestion of others simply beggars belief.

And the worst of all was his recent proposal to tax hospital beds at a rate of $1,424 per month (about $50 per day, per bed), a move his administration says would raise $430 million in revenue annually. Half of that money would be used to help the state qualify for federal aid that would be distributed to hospitals that treat the most uninsured patients (many of whom are illegal aliens), and half would go into the general fund.

About 25 hospitals in the state would benefit from the plan, but it is unlikely the money would put a serious dent in the $1 billion already spent each year in charity care. Another 49 hospitals in the state would lose money. Overlook Hospital in Summit, for example, says it would lose $6.5 million. And according to a story last week in one of Greater Media Newspapers' publications, the Independent, Bayshore Community Health Services of Holmdel would face a loss of $2.7 million a year, a shortfall that could translate into the termination of 100 employees.

Those predictions, of course, assume that hospitals would not increase rates to cover the tax hike - thereby passing the burden onto the shoulders of patients with adequate health care coverage - and that is an unlikely scenario.

Hospitals would raise rates in the face of the bed tax, and those rates would eventually be paid by companies that provide medical plans and working stiffs who make contributions to those plans from every paycheck.

In an era when medical costs have skyrocketed out of control, when ordinary taxpayers are finding it impossible to break even in the face of rising property taxes and health insurance increases, any proposal that would increase the cost of a hospital stay, simply to put a little money in the general fund, is insanity.

Thankfully, the proposal has already met with howls of disapproval from leaders in both political parties, and Corzine is starting to feel the heat. If he feels enough of it, he may back off this ludicrous idea.

State Assemblywoman Amy Handlin (R-Monmouth and Middlesex) has created a petition decrying the bed tax and is in the process of collecting what she, and officials at Bayshore Community Health Services, hope will be 1,000 signatures to present to the governor.

I suggest that finding 1,000 people who oppose this ham-fisted proposal will be a walk in the park. But if you want to add your two cents, you can find the petition at the hospital's Internet Web site at www.bchs.com.

Once at that location, you can either print out a copy of the petition, pass it around among your friends and send several signatures back to Bayshore by fax or mail, or you can sign only your own name and fax or mail the printed petition to the facility.

Either way, it will be time and effort well spent.

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If you commute to Middlesex County, here's a tip that could put a gas card worth $100 in your pocket.

I was talking to East Brunswick Mayor Bill Neary last week about an unrelated subject, when he mentioned a program sponsored by a nonprofit transportation management association called Keep Middlesex Moving, for which he is the executive director.

Under the program, commuters willing to start and maintain a new carpool for 24 days over the course of two months, beginning in May, will receive a $100 gas card for participation. Admittedly, there are restrictions. The program is only open to the first 100 carpools whose final work destination is Middlesex County, and there are sign-up requirements and other ongoing requirements that must be fulfilled in order to receive the card.

If you commute to Middlesex County, however, even if your destination is the bus stop where you'll take a bus to the city, you may be eligible for the program. This week, a gallon of gas at my local station was over $3, so at that price $100 would buy more than 30 gallons of gas, enough for a couple of fill-ups in most cars.

Politics and skepticism aside, how can you go wrong with a deal like that?

You can sign up at www.kmm.org.

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As a Verizon customer, I was interested to read this week that two New Jersey lawyers had filed a $1 billion class action suit against the company. Their claim is simple. If Verizon turned over private records of customers' phone calls to the National Security Agency as has been reported, then that is a clear violation of the Telecommunications Act of 1934. As compensation, the suit asks for $1,000 for each of the company's 50 million customers.

Verizon denies turning over the records, but if it eventually turns out Verizon did turn my phone logs (boring as they might be) over to the NSA, then I certainly would feel violated - and a thousand bucks would go a long way to ease my pain.

As long as I can find a way to keep Jon Corzine from getting his hands on it, that is.

Gregory Bean is executive editor of Greater Media Newspapers. His e-mail address is gbean@gmnews.com.