Symposium focuses on children's health insurance coverage in New Jersey, April 15

PRINCETON, N.J. -- Health care experts and state legislators will discuss the "The Unhealthy State of Health Insurance for Children" at Princeton University's 2005 Symposium on New Jersey Issues from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Friday, April 15, in Dodds Auditorium, Robertson Hall.

The symposium will examine flaws in New Jersey's health care insurance system and proposals for improvement. Despite a number of federal and state government programs aimed at improving health coverage, an estimated 10 percent of children in New Jersey do not have health insurance coverage.

The event's keynote presentations will be delivered by three noted health care authorities:

  • Uwe Reinhardt, the James Madison Professor of Political Economy at Princeton, who is one of the nation's leading experts on health care economics;

  • Sara Rosenbaum, chair of the Department of Health Policy and Hirsh Professor of Health Law and Policy at George Washington University, who has played a major role in the design of federal and state regulatory health policy in a wide range of areas; and

  • Melanie Bella, vice president for policy at the Princeton, N.J.-based Center for Health Care Strategies, who leads the nonprofit center's efforts to improve the quality of health care for some of the nation's most vulnerable populations, including low-income families and people with chronic illness, disabilities or special needs.

The presentations will be followed by a panel discussion with legislators on the current state of health insurance for children in New Jersey and what government officials are doing to address the issue.

The symposium is sponsored by the University's Policy Research Institute for the Region, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and Office of Community and State Affairs. The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required. For additional information or to register, visit: http://web.princeton.edu/sites/pucsa/pucsa_reg/index.html.