New Jersey gov. Christine Todd Whitman has "conditionally" vetoed the anti-needlestick bill passed unanimously by the state legislature last summer. The bill would require hospitals and other medical facilities to use safe needle technology.

The "conditional" veto means she signed the bill but changed it. The bill's sponsors say the changes make the bill much less effective.

The governor added a provision asking the state health commissioner to decide whether there are procedures for which safe needles should not be used because of possible harm to patients, even though the needles are already certified safe for patients by the federal Food and Drug Administration.

She added another provision that lets health professionals reject the use of safe needles on a case-by-case basis. This could open the door to hospitals pressuring employees not to use the safe needle technology, which is slightly more expensive than conventional needles.

Governor Whitman exempted drugs sold in pre-filled syringes for up to five years, to give drug companies time to get FDA approval of the new needles. Sponsors say that's much longer than necessary. Drug companies lobbied for the delay. The hospital industry also opposes the bill.

Patients First, a coalition of health care workers' unions and consumer groups, has worked hard for the bill. The Health Professionals and Allied Employees/FNHP is a leading coalition member. As Healthwire went to press, Patients First and its legislative allies were planning their next move.

The cost of switching to safer needle systems is estimated at $75,000 for a 300-bed hospital. But an analysis in California, the only state so far to mandate safe needles, found that health care employers would save more than $100 million a year because of lower treatment costs for needlestick victims.

Meanwhile, Kaiser Permanente HMO, responding to strong pressure from its unions, has agreed to begin using safe, retractable syringes. Kaiser's AFL-CIO unions, including Oregon FNHP, work together.