News
Extreme Heat & Supportive Housing In NJ by Yuhao Zheng (MCRP ’27)
SHA’s latest white paper, “Extreme Heat and Supportive Housing in New Jersey” examines the challenges present in warming climates and how the Garden State can proactively respond to keep residents safe in existing homes and needs for new construction or redevelopment.
Colleagues Celebrate Dr. Joel Cantor’s 27 Years of Exceptional Leadership
Serving over 27 years as the Director of Rutgers’ Center for State Health Policy, Dr. Joel Cantor helped establish the Center as one of New Jersey’s most trusted sources of independent health policy research.
NJSPL Report: Historical Water Bodies, CSO, and Flood Vulnerability in NJ
As urban areas have developed in New Jersey, some water bodies such as ponds, streams, and wetlands have been filled in, developed over, or rerouted through stormwater systems. In some cases, this process may have increased local flooding.
New Jersey Can’t Wait: We Need a Multisector Plan for Aging
Roberto Muñiz, President & CEO of Parker Health Group and a Senior Health Administration Fellow at the Bloustein School, argues that New Jersey urgently needs a Multisector Plan for Aging (MPA) to address housing, healthcare, transportation, and economic security as the state’s senior population grows fast. New Jersey has led the nation in outbound migration for years, he notes, with many older residents leaving due to high costs, and that more than half of seniors in the state don’t earn enough to cover basic needs.
Marc Pfeiffer Speaks with WNYC’s Michael Hill About High Retirement Payouts in NJ
Some long-serving public officials in New Jersey are collecting huge payouts when they retire. The payouts can include saved-up leave and sick days over the course of the job. Marc Pfeiffer speaks with WNYC about how West Orange ended up in this situation.
Exploring Policy Pathways for a Public Health Insurance Option: FamilyCare Buy-In Program
This report examines three policy options New Jersey could consider to expand coverage for individuals who are left out of federal programs due to their immigration status or because they cannot afford coverage. The options are a Basic Health Program (BHP), a Medicaid Buy-In, and a state-run Public Option.
Flood of comments on White House grantmaking overhaul is largely negative, analysis shows
“Public comment periods and regulations are not a plebiscite, they’re not a vote. So it doesn’t officially matter whether it’s 80-20 one way or 70-30 or 51-49. One thing I can assure you, the administration, any administration, will not count up and let those totals affect their final decisions,” said Stuart Shapiro, the dean of the Rutgers School of Planning and Public Policy and a former OMB official who has written about the role public comments play in shaping regulation.
NJSPL: Making Sense of NJ Hospital Consolidation in a Challenging Policy Environment
The recent wave of hospital consolidation has affected all of New Jersey’s Hospital Referral Regions (HRRs), which represent the distinct markets where most patients receive their hospital care.
New Jersey’s New E-Bike Law Sparks Debate Ahead of July 19 Rollout
Von Hagen said many New Jersey residents who are neurodivergent or have disabilities are unable to obtain a driver’s license. She believes this law will stop them from riding e-bikes.
Research Brief: Current, Future Coastal Flood Inundation of NJ Roadways
A new research brief by Jonathan Delura, Senior Research Specialist, Center for Urban Policy Research for the New Jersey Climate Change Research Center details a novel approach for estimating the extent and depth of roadway inundation using light detection and ranging (LiDAR) derived roadway surface elevations. A desktop analysis was conducted utilizing this approach to provide a first order assessment of coastal flooding impacts under current and future flood scenarios for New Jersey.
How NYU Langone’s planned Melville hospital would change Long Island healthcare
Cases for higher, or lower, prices
Older hospitals may buy expensive new equipment and other technology to better compete, in some cases leading to duplication of services, said Soumitra Bhuyan, executive director of health administration programs at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University.
Combined with NYU Langone’s investment in the new hospital, that could help push up prices for patients — although competition among hospitals also could potentially help lower prices, he said.
In addition, an academic medical center like the proposed Melville hospital generally charges more than community hospitals, he said.
Studies show that initial hospitalization costs for academic medical centers are higher, although other research indicates that, long-term, costs can be lower, possibly because of fewer complications after an initial hospital stay at an academic medical center.
New Jersey economy expected to trail U.S. growth for next 2 years, Rutgers report says
Authors Will Irving and Tarun Arasu, both of Rutgers, expect employment growth to rebound to 0.5% in 2027 and eventually outpace the national rate over the medium term.