Critics Take Horizon to Task Over Omnia Alliance, Citing Lack of Transparency
From NJ Spotlight, October 6, 2015
The traditional role of New Jersey’s state government in regulating the hospital and insurance industries has been to balance the needs of residents against the realities of the market, to ensure, among other things, equitable access to healthcare.
Then why are two leading senators on insurance issues — Nia H. Gill (D-Essex and Passaic) and Joseph F. Vitale (D-Middlesex) — arguing that the state has abdicated its responsibility in the case of the new OMNIA Health Alliance from Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey? And they’re not alone in claiming that Horizon’s secretive selection process has left hospitals that were shut out of the alliance facing a bleak future, one that could include going dark.
This situation helps explain why Gill and Vitale are calling for Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman to step in and put a stop to the OMNIA rollout, at least until his office and legislators have more time to review the plans.