S1483

An Act concerning the privacy rights of immigrants and the disclosure of health care enrollment information to immigration authorities, and supplementing Title 30 of the Revised Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. a. The Legislature finds and declares that existing privacy laws prohibit the disclosure of health care enrollment information to immigration and customs authorities and officials; however, the State’s immigrant population lacks adequate awareness about these privacy protections and is, therefore, less likely to apply for and receive health care benefits under the State’s Medicaid and NJ FamilyCare programs than would otherwise be true, because of an unfounded fear that disclosure of their health care enrollment information will lead to their deportation or the undertaking of other adverse immigration-related action against them. The Legislature further finds and declares that the development of a public awareness campaign, which is designed to highlight the applicable privacy protections in this area, would benefit the State’s immigrant population – particularly those immigrants who lack appropriate health care coverage – since immigrants will be more likely to seek needed public assistance under the State Medicaid or NJ FamilyCare programs if they do not fear that official retribution will result from such action.

b. The Department of Human Services shall establish a public awareness campaign to inform the public, and particularly, the immigrant populations in the State, about the existence and nature of federal and State privacy laws that prevent the disclosure of health care enrollment information to immigration and customs authorities and officials. The public awareness campaign developed pursuant to this subsection may be coordinated with, or incorporated as a distinct part of, the enhanced Medicaid and NJ FamilyCare outreach and enrollment initiative that is established by the department under section 26 of P.L.2008, c.38 (C.30:4J-18).

c. In implementing the public awareness campaign under this section, the commissioner shall:

(1) prepare and disseminate information to the public through the use of linguistically and culturally sensitive informational materials and public announcements in both English and Spanish;

(2) make use of all available forms of media, including, but not limited to, print media, television and radio, billboards, and the Internet;

(3) seek to disseminate printed information through a variety of entities, including, but not limited to, primary care sites, health care facilities, local health departments and clinics, social service entities, county offices on aging, pharmacies, libraries, community centers, senior centers, houses of worship, and community-based outreach programs and organizations; and

(4) coordinate the efforts used in the campaign with any activities that are being undertaken by the department or other State agencies to promote public awareness of, and provide information to the public about, the State’s medical assistance programs.

d. The department shall establish, on its Internet website, a unique webpage that is dedicated to the immigration and privacy issues that are the subject of the public awareness campaign established under this section. The unique webpage shall be easily identifiable and accessible to Spanish-speaking website visitors. To that end, the department shall ensure both that the webpage is accessible through the use of a Spanish-language uniform resource locator (URL), and that any hyperlinks to the page, which appear at any location on the department’s Internet website, include a parenthetical explanation, in both English and Spanish, describing the contents of the page. The webpage itself shall provide a summary, in both English and Spanish, of relevant immigration and privacy laws and how they govern the disclosure of health care information, and shall include hyperlinks to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement website and any other appropriate websites that may be useful for visitors seeking further explanation. To the extent practicable, the unique webpage established under this subsection shall also include hyperlinks to digital and printable copies of the pamphlets and other printed materials that have been developed as part of the public awareness campaign.

2. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill would require the Department of Human Services to undertake a public awareness campaign to inform the public, and particularly, the immigrant populations in the State, about the existence and nature of federal and State privacy laws that prevent the disclosure of health care enrollment information to immigration and customs authorities and officials. The bill would specify that this public awareness campaign may be coordinated with, or incorporated as a distinct part of, the enhanced Medicaid and NJ FamilyCare outreach and enrollment initiative that is established by the department under section 26 of P.L.2008, c.38 (C.30:4J-18).

In implementing the public awareness campaign, the commissioner would be required to:

– prepare and disseminate information to the public through the use of linguistically and culturally sensitive campaign materials and public announcements in both English and Spanish;

– make use of all available forms of media, including, but not limited to, print media, television and radio, billboards, and the Internet;

– seek to disseminate printed information through a variety of entities, including, but not limited to, primary care sites, health care facilities, local health departments and clinics, social service entities, county offices on aging, pharmacies, libraries, community centers, senior centers, houses of worship, and community-based outreach programs and organizations; and

– coordinate the efforts used in the campaign with any activities that are being undertaken by the department or other State agencies to promote public awareness of, and provide information to the public about, the State’s medical assistance programs.

The department would additionally be required to establish, on its Internet website, a unique webpage that is dedicated to the immigration and privacy issues that are the subject of the public awareness campaign established under the bill’s provisions. The bill would require the unique webpage to be easily identifiable and accessible to Spanish-speaking website visitors. To that end, the department would be required to ensure both that the webpage is accessible through the use of a Spanish-language uniform resource locator (URL), and that any hyperlinks to the page, which appear at any location on the department’s Internet website, include a parenthetical explanation, in both English and Spanish, describing the contents of the page. The webpage itself would provide a summary, in both English and Spanish, of relevant immigration and privacy laws and how they govern the disclosure of health care information. It would also contain hyperlinks to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement website, as well as any other appropriate websites that may be useful for visitors seeking further explanation, and, to the extent practicable, would contain hyperlinks to digital and printable copies of the pamphlets and other printed materials that have been developed as part of the public awareness campaign.