The organization, the New Jersey Ambulatory Surgery Center Political Action Committee, which was established in September, contributed a total of $13,100
Thomas Considine, commissioner of the Department of Banking and Insurance, in this 2010 file photo. Consindine proposed requiring auto accident victims with some spinal cord and joint injuries to control medical costs. TRENTON — Faced with sweeping legislation and rule changes that could threaten the future of the industry, a handful of doctors who run same-day surgery centers have launched a political action committee to bolster its influence in Trenton.
The organization, the New Jersey Ambulatory Surgery Center Political Action Committee, which was established in September, contributed a total of $13,100 to Democrats and Republicans who competed in the Nov. 8 election, campaign finance reports show.
The operators of surgery centers — which have become a major force in the state’s health care marketplace in the past 20 years and compete with hospitals for business — have seen a growing number of laws and regulations that could limit the industry’s growth, said Mark Manigan, a prominent health care attorney and treasurer of the committee.
"There’s really no shortage of good policy issues in play," Manigan said. "It’s a tough and competitive market, and with rules constantly changing, everyone is kind of nervous right now."
Surgery center operators are fighting a proposal put forward by Thomas Considine, commissioner of the state Department of Banking and Insurance. That proposal aims to control the medical costs of auto accident victims with some spinal cord and joint injuries by requiring them to be treated in hospitals.
The industry also opposes a measure that would cap the costs of treatment provided by doctors who do not participate in a managed care insurance plan.
Manigan said the committee supports a bill (A4099) passed by the Senate and coming before the Assembly health committee tomorrow that would require all surgery centers to be licensed and inspected by the state Department of Health and Senior Services.
Currently, only centers with more than one operating room must undergo inspections.
Doctors who individually run a total of seven surgery centers in Burlington, Middlesex, Morris, Somerset and Warren counties donated $7,200 apiece to provide the committee with $50,400 in startup funds, according to the finance reports.
State Sen. Barbara Buono (D-Middlesex) received $5,000, the largest donation from the fledgling committee, the report said.
The committee also contributed $500 to Assemblyman Lou Greenwald, (D-Camden), who was recently elected majority leader.
Among Republicans, the committee gave $2,600 to John Driscoll, who unsuccessfully challenged state Sen. Robert Gordon (D-Bergen), $2,500 to the Senate Republicans, and $2,500 to the Assembly Republican Victory Committee, the report said.
Surgery centers already wield a great deal of influence with legislators, with about 230 registered facilities providing 6,000 jobs and paying $60 million in taxes in 2009, according to Oxford Outcomes, a Morristown-based consultant that was paid by the industry.
David Knowlton of the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute, a research and consumer advocacy organization, said oversight measures are needed to "bring rationality" to what doctors and centers are allowed to charge.
But Knowlton said he wasn’t surprised the committee was created. "People have a right to be heard and support legislators they think have similar views to theirs," he said.
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