Acting Governor Donald T. DiFrancesco signed A-1315 (Myers, Augustine)/S-2436 (Matheussen), which allows employers with two to 50 employees to band together to negotiate volume discounts in the purchase of health plans. This legislation was a top priority for NJBIA, which fought hard for its passage.

The new law means greater buying power and lower costs for small employers. Prior to its enactment, no legal framework was in place allowing businesses to join together and obtain group healthcare discounts. Now businesses with a common interest will be able to form healthcare purchasing alliances that can then negotiate for the same type of pricing as large employers.

Eligible business groups must be comprised of employers engaged in a similar trade, be members of a common professional or trade association, or be located in a common geographic area. Through these alliances small companies would still have access to the state's standard health benefit plans for small groups, along with guaranteed renewal, regardless of the health of employees or their dependents.

Employers will also enjoy greater access to a wealth of information on providing health benefits under the new Health Data Commission law. Acting Governor Donald T. DiFrancesco signed the NJBIA-backed bill, A-314 (Vandervalk, Cohen)/S-374 (Sinagra, Adler), to provide employers with a single, comprehensive source of healthcare data. The commission will provide information on the quality of service ratings, premium cost comparisons, physician credentials, and the percentage of employers offering health benefits to their employees.

NJBIA's Health Affairs Committee originally developed the idea for the Independent Health Data Commission in response to employers' requests for more reliable healthcare information.

The new law will help New Jersey employers provide their employees with the best health plans at the lowest cost. The Governor, Legislature and sponsors deserve credit for taking this positive approach to make it easier for employers to provide health benefits. For more information, contact Bryan Markowitz at bmarkowitz@njbia.org or ext. 225.

New Law Lets Individuals Sue Health Plans
Acting Governor Donald DiFrancesco on July 30 signed legislation allowing individuals to sue their health plans for medical malpractice.

The law includes a key amendment sought by NJBIA requiring most claimants to first take their claims through New Jersey's independent appeals process before going to court. Only those with serious injuries can go straight to court. Everyone else must first take their dispute before a panel of three independent doctors who can make binding decisions in resolving their cases.

The amendments to A-3136/S-1333 (Corodemus, Talarico, Connors, Singer)/A-2055 (Kelly, Gusciora) make expensive lawsuits a last resort, not a first resort, in resolving disputes between individuals and their health plans. The amendments limiting the right to sue make New Jersey's law one of the most restrictive in the nation. New Jersey's law exempts employers from liability, and it does not apply to employers who self-insure.

These amendments are critical to holding down the number of lawsuits and attendant costs that would otherwise result from this legislation. Using the existing independent appeals process also will produce a quicker response and could head off expensive litigation altogether by producing a result that satisfies a claimant.

Key Legislative Contests Will Decide Who Controls State Government
On November 6, control of the State House will be up for grabs as the Governor's Office and all 120 seats in the Senate and Assembly will be decided in the general election. Republicans have controlled the Legislature since 1991. Currently the GOP has a 45 to 35 majority in the Assembly and a 25 to 15 majority in the Senate.

Here is a look at the key races that will determine who controls the Legislature.

District 1 (Cape May County and parts of Cumberland and Atlantic Counties)-This district became very competitive on August 28 when Bob Balicki dropped off the Democratic ticket in favor of Cape May County Freeholder Jeff Van Drew. Van Drew won his Freeholder seat in November by more than 11,000 votes and ran a competitive race in 1997 against Republican incumbents Nick Asselta and Jack Gibson. In the Senate, Democrat Bill Hughes, Jr., the son of a former Congressman from Ocean City, is challenging veteran Senator James S. Cafiero.

District 3 (Salem County and parts of Cumberland and Gloucester Counties)-The District 3 Senate race is one to watch. Senator Ray Zane switched parties to run as a Republican after a falling out with Democratic Party officials in Gloucester County. Although a long-time Democrat, Zane maintained a conservative voting record. Gloucester County Freeholder Director Stephen Sweeney now faces Zane for his Senate seat.

The GOP is also defending two open Assembly seats in District 3, where neither Assembly Speaker Jack Collins nor Assemblyman Gary Stuhltrager are seeking reelection. Democrats John Burzichelli, Mayor of Paulsboro, and Doug Fisher, Cumberland County Freeholder, are running against the Republican ticket of Salem County Freeholder Mike Facemyer and Cumberland County Freeholder Hal Johnson.

District 7 (Parts of Burlington and Camden Counties)-Republican Senator Diane Allen faces a challenge from Burlington County Democratic Chairman Louis Gallagher. A former anchorwoman who appeared on Philadelphia television for many years, Allen has been able to hold a seat as an Assemblywoman and Senator since 1995 in an otherwise Democratic district.

District 14 (Parts of Mercer and Middlesex Counties)-This is a rematch of the 1999 race-with a twist. In 1999, Democratic Assembly members Linda Greenstein and Gary Guear ousted four-term Republicans Paul Kramer and Barbara Wright. This year, Wright and Kramer are the challengers trying to reclaim their seats. At the same time, Peter Inverso, the three-term Republican Senator, faces a tough election against challenger Samuel J. Plumeri, the popular Mercer County Sheriff.

The key to this race lies in Hamilton Township, which was once a Republican stronghold. Two years ago, a successful Democratic campaign for mayor and Council helped Greenstein and Guear cut into the large Republican margins Kramer and Wright had come to rely on. The question now is whether Hamilton will go back to voting Republican or stay competitive and deny Republicans the margins they need.

District 36 (Parts of Bergen, Passaic and Essex Counties)-The GOP is looking to pick up a Senate seat here with long-term Assemblyman Jack Kelly challenging Democratic incumbent Gary Furnari. At the same time, the GOP is defending Kelly's open Assembly seat and Assembly Majority Leader Paul DiGaetano's seat in what is a competitive swing district. DiGaetano and running mate James Cassella, East Rutherford's mayor, face a serious challenge from Wallington Mayor Walter Wargacki and Wood-Ridge Mayor Paul Sarlo.

District 38 (Parts of Bergen County)-Redistricting hurts Republicans in this district, which picked up strong Democrat-leaning towns-Fair Lawn and Fort Lee-and lost strongly Republican-leaning Oradell. Additionally, long-time Republican Nick Felice will run as a virtual newcomer since the only town he has ever represented in the newly configured district is Fair Lawn (he had represented District 40). Felice will run with incumbent Assemblywoman Rose Heck against Democrats Mathew Ahearn, Fair Lawn's deputy mayor, and Kay Nest, former Fort Lee Democratic municipal chairwoman. At the top of the ticket, Republican Senator Louis Kosco faces Paramus Democratic Municipal Chairman Joseph Coniglio.

Perfection is the Goal at AT&T's Global Network Operating Center
Dave Johnson, Director of Media Relations, AT&T Network Services, frowned at the yellow line on the graph displayed on a giant computer screen at AT&T's Global Network Operating Center (GNOC) in Bedminster. The graph, he said, indicated that in the last five minutes, AT&T routed 1.89 million phone calls. He was frowning because two of them did not go through.

"Usually, that number is zero," he said.

For the people at the GNOC, anything more than zero falls short of their goal. Johnson explained that AT&T wants every data transaction to go through the first time. And while absolute perfection may elude them, the people at GNOC can boast that 99.998 percent of their data transactions do go through on the first try.

"This is the largest, most sophisticated communications control center anywhere in the world," Johnson said during a tour of the site for Assemblyman Thomas Kean, Jr., NJBIA Executive Vice President Philip Kirschner, and a dozen local elected officials. AT&T's New Jersey President J. Michael Schweder was on hand to greet the group and brief them about AT&T's role in the telecommunications industry.

The tour was part of NJBIA's Site Visit Program, which puts legislators in touch with businesses in their own backyards. Since 1997, NJBIA has organized 105 site visits across the state.

The GNOC resembles the control room at NASA. A huge bank of computer screens transmits data, maps and charts while employees monitor the national network for sudden changes in calling patterns or indications of a malfunction in one of the millions of circuits that make up AT&T's system.

Televisions tuned to 24-hour news channels are interspersed among the computer screens. The people monitoring the system have to react quickly to sudden changes in calling patterns. When an earthquake hit San Francisco, for example, the volume of calls shot up dramatically. To accommodate the added volume, monitors devoted additional phone lines to route calls towards San Francisco.

With 1,700 trillion bytes of data traveling through the network every 24 hours (roughly the equivalent of the entire printed contents of the Library of Congress being transmitted every 17 minutes), monitors have to move quickly.

"You can get into an awful lot of trouble in a short period of time here if you don't monitor it carefully," Johnson said.

Bullish Synergy, Inc. Thrives in the Market It Created
Not long after Gerald Ellner opened Synergy, Inc.-a manufacturer of quality bed linens-he took a chance. He bought 5,000 yards of high-thread-count fabric, which represented a major investment for a company the size of Synergy with no orders pending for the finished product.

In essence, Ellner gambled that if he made them, companies would buy high quality bed sheets.

"We're gamblers," Ellner said at a recent tour of Synergy's new Cranford manufacturing facility. "We're small so we have to be gamblers. It paid off big time."

Synergy is thriving in the market it created. While New Jersey's manufacturing industry has been shrinking since 1979 and many businesses are struggling in the current economic slow down, Synergy is humming to meet the increased demand for its products.

Ellner hosted a recent tour of Synergy's Cranford manufacturing facility for Assemblymen Richard Bagger and Tom Kean, Jr., and NJBIA President Joe Gonzalez as part of the Association's Site Visit Program.

Ellner has continued developing new, high-thread-count bed sheets. Synergy is a major supplier for Bed Bath and Beyond; The Bay, a Canadian retail chain; Strouds, a west coast chain; and TJ Maxx.

To set up a Site Tour at your company, contact Libby Vinson at 609-393-7707, ext. 201.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

Friday, October 12
Jersey Shore Partnership Annual Meeting
The Jersey Shore Partnership will hold its 10th anniversary annual meeting on October 12 at the Ocean Place Conference Resort in Long Branch. The Partnership, an independent partner of NJBIA, is dedicated to securing state and federal funding for shore protection. The annual meeting will be held from 8 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. Speakers will include Partnership Chairman Laurence M. Downes, chairman and CEO of New Jersey Resources Corp., and members of the New Jersey congressional delegation. Tickets are $85 per person. Call 732-747-0456 for more information or tickets.

Tuesday, October 16
Awards for Excellence Dinner
Six NJBIA member companies that have achieved excellence in activities related to environmental quality, human resources management and job creation will receive our Award for Excellence at a dinner banquet at the Princeton Marriott on October 16. An Award for Excellence in public service will also be presented to two individuals. The program begins at 6:00 p.m. and includes a reception, dinner, and the awards presentations. Tickets are $149 per person and tables of 10 are available. To register, call Stacy Wichner at 609-393-7707, ext. 213. For sponsorship information, call Sherry Esteves, ext. 219. Online Registration Here

November (Date To Be Announced)
Made in New Jersey Day
If your company makes a product in New Jersey, showcase it at NJBIA's 6th Annual Made in New Jersey Day, which will be held on a legislative session day in November. The date of this year's event will be set as soon as we receive the Legislature's fall schedule. If you are a member of NJBIA and would like to be an exhibitor, a Sampler Bag contributor or an event sponsor, contact Stacy Wichner at 609-393-7707, ext. 213, or Sherry Esteves at ext. 219.