NJ Spotlight published the following article on 6/16/2014. To read the full article, click here.

Bills to Expand Rutgers’ Board of Governors Make Progress in Legislature

Andrew Kitchenman | June 16, 2014

Until now, New Jersey public employees have been at a disadvantage compared with those insured by private employers when seeking to use a medication for a treatment that hasn’t been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

A bill advancing in the Legislature would change that by requiring the state and school health plans to cover these “off-label” prescriptions, which are particularly important for cancer treatments.

Assemblyman Herb Conaway Jr., a primary-care doctor, is the sponsor of the bill.

A key advocate for the bill has been the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network. Ethan Hasbrouck, the network’s advocacy director, said doctors frequently try different combinations of drugs, outpacing the FDA’s ability to approve these uses.

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