ASSEMBLY, No. 1458
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
217th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2016 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman PAMELA R. LAMPITT
District 6 (Burlington and Camden)
Assemblywoman GABRIELA M. MOSQUERA
District 4 (Camden and Gloucester)
Assemblywoman JOANN DOWNEY
District 11 (Monmouth)
Assemblyman TROY SINGLETON
District 7 (Burlington)
Assemblywoman VALERIE VAINIERI HUTTLE
District 37 (Bergen)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblymen Coughlin, Kennedy, Assemblywomen Jones, McKnight, Pinkin, Muoio, Assemblymen Houghtaling and Conaway
SYNOPSIS
Requires health care professionals engaged in prenatal care to provide parents of newborns with information on health insurance coverage for newborn children.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As reported by the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee on May 1, 2017, with amendments.
An Act concerning patient notification of insurance coverage of newborns and supplementing Title 26 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The Commissioner of Health, in consultation with the Commissioner of Banking and Insurance, shall prepare and make available to each 1[hospital and birthing facility] health care professional1 in the State informational literature on health insurance coverage for newborn children, which is to be provided to new mothers in accordance with subsection b. of this section. At a minimum, the information shall inform new parents of: (1) the period of time during which applicable State and federal laws require a parent’s health insurance policy to provide coverage for a newborn child; and (2) how to obtain coverage for the child after that period under the parent’s policy, a separate private health insurance policy, or a public health coverage plan. The commissioner may make the informational literature available to 1[hospitals and birthing facilities] health care professionals1 by posting it on the Department of Health’s Internet website or by other electronic means.
b. The Department of Health shall require each 1[hospital and birthing facility] health care professional1 in the State to provide new mothers, including adoptive mothers, with the informational literature specified in section a. of this section. The informational literature shall be distributed to the mother and any other adult family member, including adult adoptive family members 1[, present at the infant's birth, by the staff designated by the hospital or birthing facility, prior to the mother's discharge, as part of the hospital or birthing facility's discharge procedures]1.
c. As used in this section 1["birthing facility"] “health care professional”1 means an 1[inpatient or ambulatory health care facility licensed by the Department of Health to provide birthing and newborn care services] individual who is licensed or certified pursuant to Title 45 of the Revised Statutes, and who provides prenatal health care services as a part of the individual’s authorized scope of professional practice1.
2. The Commissioner of Health, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), shall adopt rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of this act.
3. This act shall take effect on the first day of the fourth month next following the date of enactment, except that the Commissioner of Health, in consultation with the Commissioner of Banking and Insurance, may take such anticipatory administrative action in advance thereof as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.