New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has used a pocket veto on the recently approved bill that would require licensing for one-operating room surgery centers.
The New Jersey Legislature approved the legislation, S2780 and A4099, earlier this month. The bill stated that unlicensed centers currently not Medicare-certified would need to become Medicare-certified. It also makes all surgical facilities — including single-room surgical practices, multi-room ambulatory surgery centers and hospitals — subject to the same licensing by the state health department. The health department does not currently license single-room centers.
The pocket veto is used when legislature is adjourned for session, and "effectively kills the bill," says Jeffrey Shanton, chair, Advocacy & Legislative Affairs Committee, for the New Jersey Association of Ambulatory Surgery Centers. It cannot go back to the New Jersey Legislature for override of the veto.
S2780 was sponsored by Sen. Joseph Vitale (D-Middlesex) and A4099 was sponsored by Assemblyman Herb Conaway Jr., MD (D-Burlington County). The legislation was supported by NJAASC, the New Jersey Hospital Association and the Medical Society of New Jersey.
Gov. Christie's decision to use the veto was met with great disappointment by Jeffrey Shanton, chair, Advocacy & Legislative Affairs Committee, for NJAASC.
"To say that I am disappointed would be a gross understatement," he says. "That we got this bill to the point where we were satisfied with it, and then got it out of the Legislature in nine months, is a testament to the dedication of those involved. Simply put, this was a good bill, period."
Mr. Shanton believes lobbying by the state's department of health and senior services led to the bill's demise.
"We knew about their objections all along, they were frank about them," he says. "They objected to their department having to take on licensure/inspection of these centers, the staffing and funding of such. They also raised concerns about the one-room surgical practices not being assessed, that this might reduce or eliminate federal funds.
Mr. Shanton says NJAASC is already planning to meet with the health department's commissioner and resolve the issues that led to the veto.
"We continue to believe that this is important, actually imperative for the industry, and most importantly for the patients," he says. "This is not going to go away, trust me. The issue that sparked this legislation is still out there."
Related Articles on New Jersey ASCs:
Dr. Fritz Bech to Oversee Surgical Services at NJ's Kennedy Surgical Center
NJ's Summit Medical Group Ambulatory Surgery Center Treats 10,000th Patient
New Jersey's Riverview Medical Center to Start Construction on Surgery Center