As a non-partisan organization, we work with all relevant state and federal officials. As President Donald Trump takes office along with a new Congress — and as New Jersey gears up for its Gubernatorial election in November — we know that health care policy will remain a top priority.

Here are the areas that we expect to focus on with you this year.  As always, we’ll address these issues in a nonpartisan fashion, looking specifically at the evidence, focusing on what is best for New Jersey and those who live here, and finding ways to move ideas to action. Creating change requires a delicate balance of sticking to our mission and values while also finding compromises that benefit multiple groups. In 2025, there will be a heightened need for convening, bridge-building, and creating solutions.

Our 2025 focus areas are driven by what local leaders in our Mayors Wellness Campaign, our funders, our board, and our members tell us are the top needs for improving health care safety, quality, and affordability for everyone. They are:

• Continuing to transform our health care system to have a firm foundation in preventive and comprehensive primary care to promote overall health and wellness for everyone.
• Mapping out and recommending systemic improvement in children’s mental health.
• Improving access and quality of care within NJ FamilyCare networks. We just released a Secret Shopper Report on NJ Medicaid Oral Health Access for Young Children. I urge you to read it and join us in taking action to eliminate ghost networks
• Modernizing New Jersey’s health care workforce licensing and funding systems to better recruit and retain workers and increase access to care.
• Building upon our Maternal Infant Health work to make New Jersey the safest place to give birth.
• Working with local partners to build healthy communities for people to live, work, play and age well

As we launch into 2025, I want to reflect on some of our 2024 accomplishments and the critical health issues we addressed throughout the past year. In our work together, as outlined in our many blogs and op-eds, we continued to advocate for issues that are critical to improving mental health access, primary care, and integrated team based care. We called for increased support for comprehensive primary care; improving maternal infant health equity and outcomes; and increasing transparency of safety and quality in care settings. You can read more in our annual report.

Finally, if you missed them, we urge you to check out our 2024 Take Five featured interviews with New Jersey health care leaders, including new regulators, health system and insurer leaders who outlined their top priorities and more.

I am always eager to hear from our members. Please reach out to me at any time. All of us at the Quality Institute look forward to working with our members and partners as we continue to advance our mission.