Requires DOH to study cost of establishing long-term health care benefit for certain individuals.

A1663 AHE Statement 3/9/26

ASSEMBLY HEALTH COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY,
No. 1663

with
committee amendments

STATE
OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:
�MARCH
9, 2026

����� The Assembly Health Committee reports favorably and
with committee amendments Assembly Bill No. 1663.

����� As amended by the committee,
this bill requires the Department of Health to study
the cost of establishing a long-term health care benefit for certain
individuals.

���� Under
the bill, the Commissioner of Health (commissioner) is to study modeling of
public and private options for leveraging private resources to help individuals
prepare for long-term health care services and support needs. �The study is to
model two options: �(1) a public long-term health care benefit for workers,
funded through a payroll deduction that would provide a time-limited long-term
health care insurance benefit; and (2) a public-private reinsurance or
risk-sharing model, with the purpose of providing a stable and ongoing source
of reimbursement to insurers for a portion of the insurer�s catastrophic
long-term health care services and supports losses in order to provide
additional insurance capacity for the State.�

���� Within
365 days following the bill�s effective date, the commissioner is to prepare
and submit a report containing all relevant findings to the Governor, and to
the Legislature, including the Chairs of the Assembly Aging and Human Services,
the Assembly Health Committee, and Senate Health, Human Services and Senior
Citizens Committees, or their respective successor committees.� The report is
to include any recommendations for legislation or regulatory changes that would
address long-term care health benefits, and include input from interested
stakeholders.� The report is to also include an analysis that considers:� (1)
the expected costs and benefits for participants; (2) the total anticipated
number of participants; (3) the projected savings to the State�s Medicaid
program, if any; and (4) the legal and financial risks to the State.�

���� Presently,
the cost for long-term health care in New Jersey may exceed $65,000 a year.�
The current average length of stay in a long-term care facility is 2.5 years.�
One national study, which projected nursing home use, suggested that, of the
approximately 2.2 million persons reaching age 65 each year, more than 900,000
are expected to enter a nursing home. �A similar study reported that, among
people who live to age 65, one in four would spend at least one year or more in
a nursing home or other type of long-term care facility.

����� This bill was pre-filed for introduction in the
2026-2027 session pending technical review.� As reported, the bill includes the
changes required by technical review, which has been performed.

COMMITTEE
AMENDMENTS:

���� The
committee amendments remove the requirement that the Commissioner of Health�s
report include input from the Assembly Aging and Human Services and Senate
Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committees and associated provisions
and instead require the report to be submitted to the Chairs of those
committees, as well as the Chair of the Assembly Health Committee.