The NJDPA officially closed on our new Trenton headquarters which will be located at 30 West Lafayette Street, just a block away from the NJ State House! Now in our third year of existence, the NJDPA has taken this necessary step to bolster our advocacy efforts and establish our lasting presence in Trenton.
In other news, last month was the official start for our new NJDPA executive director, Kim D’Angiolillo. He will be wearing many hats for us, but none more important than the point person for our upcoming membership growth and outreach initiatives. With Kim’s efforts, along with DPA leadership and membership at large, we expect our membership growth to explode. More and more independent doctors finally realize that we are in the midst of an existential crisis in healthcare that requires the support of the NJDPA and its advocacy efforts on behalf of independent doctors and their patients.
Sadly, last month our lobbyist Brian Hague left his post at MWW, and in turn the NJDPA, for a full-time position as the Director of Government Affairs and Communications with the Triple Five Group that is currently developing the American Dream Meadowlands complex. Brian was a huge advocate for the NJDPA and helped establish the DPA’s reputation in Trenton as a group of pro-active independent doctors who are small business owners looking for reasonable solutions to healthcare issues New Jersey. But he will not be leaving our cause completely, however, as this past week the NJDPA board voted for Brian Hague as our NJDPA board member-at-large for 2019-2020, and we are extremely fortunate and honored that he graciously accepted this role. We also thank our outgoing board member-at-large, Chris Burgos, for his time with our board and appreciate his contributions to our group this past year.
Lastly, leadership has begun establishing both a SuperPAC and an NJ state PAC. Given the immediate crisis at the national level, the SuperPAC is first on our priority list. Thanks to those of you who have contributed quite generously thus far, and we are hopeful for continued generosity from the membership at large. The SuperPAC will be an important instrument in disseminating the truth to the public about the genesis surprise bills; that they are primarily the residue of insurance companies not living up to their end of the bargain.
The message we will be delivering to the public is simple: price-fixing emergency and involuntary out-of-network professional services to a “median in-network rate” will destroy small business private practices around the country, and it will also harm hundreds of thousands, if not millions of patients around the nation.
Thanks again to all of you for your continued support of the DPA and our initiatives.
Best Regards,
Peter DeNoble, MD
President, NJDPA