Provides certain protections to residents of long-term care facilities.

A1752

ASSEMBLY, No. 1752

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman ANTHONY S. VERRELLI

District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblymen Stanley, Danielsen, Assemblywomen Quijano and
Fantasia

SYNOPSIS

���� Provides certain protections to residents of
long-term care facilities.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.

��

An Act
concerning individuals in long-term care facilities and
supplementing Titles
26
and
45
of the Revised Statutes.

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

���� 1.� a.� For the purposes of
this section:

���� �Family member� means a
spouse, domestic partner, partner in a civil union, child, parent, sibling,
aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, grandparent, or grandchild.

���� �Long-term care facility�
means a nursing home, inclusive of all beds in a skilled nursing facility
licensed as a long-term care facility by the Department of Health, an assisted
living residence, a comprehensive personal care home, a residential health care
facility, a long-term acute care hospital or a dementia care home licensed
pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.).

���� �Principal� means a resident
of a long-term care facility or an individual who is in the admission process
to enter a long-term care facility.

���� b.� No owner, administrator,
director, officer, or employee of a long-term care facility, person or entity
affiliated with or related to an owner, administrator, director, officer, or
employee of a long-term care facility, or other person who benefits financially
from a long-term care facility shall be authorized to manage the affairs of a
principal except pursuant to an order of the Superior Court appointing that
person guardian of the principal.� The determination whether to appoint a
long-term care facility owner, administrator, director, officer, employee, or
affiliated or related person or entity as guardian for a principal pursuant to
this subsection shall be made by the Superior Court in consultation with the
Office of the Public Guardian for Elderly Adults.

���� c.� No owner, administrator,
director, officer, or employee of a long term care facility, person or entity
affiliated with or related to an owner, administrator, director, officer, or
employee of a long-term care facility, or other person who benefits financially
from a long-term care facility, shall be eligible to act as an attorney-in-fact
for a principal.� Any power of attorney instrument executed by a principal
naming an owner, administrator, director, officer, or employee of a long term
care facility, a person or entity affiliated with or related to an owner,
administrator, director, officer, or employee of a long-term care facility, or
another person who benefits financially from a long-term care facility shall be
deemed invalid.

���� d.� Nothing in subsection b.
of this section shall be construed to prohibit the appointment of a guardian of
the person or estate of a resident of a long-term care facility by a court of
competent jurisdiction.

���� e.� Nothing in subsection c.
of this section shall be construed to prohibit a family member of a principal
from acting as attorney-in-fact for the principal.

���� f.�
A
principal who sustains injury to person or property as a result of a violation
of this section shall have a cause of action against any person who committed
the violation resulting in injury.� The action may be brought in any court of
competent jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of this section and to
recover:

����
(1)
actual, compensatory, and punitive damages, and other injunctive and equitable
relief as the court determines to be appropriate;

����
(2) treble damages upon proof of willful, malicious, or
reckless disregard of the law; and

���� (3)
reasonable attorney's fees and other litigation costs reasonably incurred by
the principal.

���� 2.��� As used in sections 2
through 5 of P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as
this bill):

���� �Long-term care facility�
means a nursing home, inclusive of all beds in a skilled nursing facility
licensed as a long-term care facility by the Department of Health, an assisted
living residence, a comprehensive personal care home, a residential health care
facility, or a dementia care home licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136
(C.26:2H-1 et seq.).

���� �Medicaid application
assistance� means any assistance provided in connection with the Medicaid
enrollment process, including providing information on insurance programs and
coverage options, assistance completing a Medicaid application, assistance
identifying and calculating income and assets, assistance submitting a Medicaid
application, attending and participating in or representing the applicant at
hearings on a Medicaid application, and assistance with communications
pertaining to a Medicaid application.� �Medicaid application assistance� may
include estate planning, developing spend-down plans, tax planning, developing
plans to transfer assets and property, and, provided the individual providing
the services is an attorney licensed in this State, related legal services.

���� �Representative� means any
person who is authorized to make decisions on behalf of a resident of a
long-term care facility, including, but not limited to, the resident�s guardian
or a friend or family member of the resident.

���� 3.� a.� No later than four
months after the effective date of this act, the Department of Health shall
develop a standard resident admission agreement form for use by long-term care
facilities. The department may develop unique standard resident admission
agreement forms for each type of long-term care facility, when appropriate. Commencing
on the first day of the sixth month next following the effective date of this
act, each long-term care facility shall use the applicable standard resident
admission form developed by the department for each new admission to the
long-term care facility.� A long-term care facility shall not alter a standard
resident admission agreement form unless directed and approved by the
department.�

���� b.� The department may develop
an abbreviated standard resident admission agreement form for residents whose
length of stay in a long-term care facility is anticipated to be 14 days or
less.� If the resident�s stay exceeds 14 days, the long-term care facility
shall obtain agreement to the remainder of the stay pursuant to an applicable standard
resident admission agreement form.

���� c.� A resident or
representative of a resident shall not be required to sign any document at the
time of, or as a condition of, admission to a long-term care facility, or as a
condition of continued stay in the facility, other than the applicable standard
resident admission agreement form developed pursuant to this section and the
acknowledgement required pursuant to section 4 of this act.�

���� d.� A long-term care facility
shall not require the execution of an arbitration agreement by a prospective
resident as a condition of admission to the facility, nor present any
arbitration agreement to a prospective resident as part of the standard
resident admission agreement.� Any arbitration agreement between a long-term
care facility and a resident of the facility shall be executed in a document
that is separate from the standard resident admission agreement, and shall
contain the following advisory in a prominent place at the top of the proposed
arbitration agreement, in bold-face font of not less than 12 point type:
�Residents shall not be required to sign this arbitration agreement as a
condition of admission to this facility. Signing this arbitration agreement
will give up your rights to a jury trial.�

���� e.� The department shall
publish on its Internet website a copy of all standard resident admission
agreement forms developed pursuant to this section, which forms shall be made
available in English, Spanish, and Chinese, as well as in any other language
the department deems appropriate.

���� 4.� a.� Commencing on the
first day of the sixth month next following the effective date of this act,
each operator of a long-term care facility shall provide each resident and the
resident�s representative, if any, at the time of the admission to the facility,
a notice, separate from the applicable standard resident admission agreement form
required pursuant to section 3 of this act, which notice shall be typed or
printed using letters which are legible or of clear type in a font of not less
than 12 point size, and shall state:

���� �YOU HAVE THE OPTION TO HIRE
AN ATTORNEY TO ASSIST WITH APPLYING FOR MEDICAL ASSISTANCE LONG-TERM CARE
BENEFITS:

���� Relying on a non-attorney
service might expose you and your family to unnecessary financial risk.� There
are non-attorney agencies and companies which may offer to prepare and submit a
Medicaid application.� These entities are not permitted to give legal advice or
to implement legal strategies that may best protect your interests, and they
are not obligated to advise you of your rights.� Moreover, these entities may
have conflicts of interest, such as a financial relationship with the long-term
care facility.� Federal law restricts these non-attorney services from charging
a fee in connecting with a Medicaid application.

���� New Jersey does not mandate
that a Medicaid applicant obtain the assistance of an attorney when completing
an application.�

���� You may, however, seek the
assistance of an attorney who is knowledgeable about elder law and Medicaid
eligibility rules.� If you wish to identify such an attorney, you may contact
the State or local bar association attorney referral service.�

���� b.� A resident of a long-term
care facility, or the resident�s representative, shall acknowledge receipt of
the notice provided pursuant to subsection a. of this section by signing the
bottom of the notice at the time of admission to the facility.� A copy of the
signed notice shall be furnished to the resident or the resident�s
representative, and a copy of the signed notice shall be retained by the
long-term care facility for the duration of the resident�s stay at the
facility.

���� c.� The operator of a
long-term facility shall prominently display the notice described in subsection
a. of this section at the entrance to the facility and in such other locations
as the department may require.

���� d.� A person providing
Medicaid application assistance to a resident or prospective resident of a
long-term care facility shall, prior to providing any application assistance
services to the resident or prospective resident, disclose any financial
relationship between the application assistance provider and any long-term care
facility, including financial relationships with any parent companies or
subsidiaries of the long-term care facility.� The person providing Medicaid
application assistance shall additionally advise that the resident or
prospective resident has the right to seek the advice of an attorney prior to
signing any legal documents.

���� 5.� a.� The Commissioner of
Health may adopt rules and regulations, pursuant to the �Administrative
Procedure Act,� P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), to implement the
provisions of this act.

���� b.� The Commissioner of Human
Services shall adopt rules and regulations, pursuant to the �Administrative
Procedure Act,� P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), establishing uniform
standards of care for non-attorney individuals providing Medicaid application
assistance, including, but not limited to:

���� (1) defining who is permitted
to act as a Medicaid application assistor before Medicaid agencies and the
Office of Administrative Law;

���� (2) outlining the scope and
nature of the services that non-attorney Medicaid application assistors are
authorized to provide; and

���� (3) requiring Medicaid
application assistors to complete training on:� Medicaid program rules;
handling confidential financial and medical information; conflicts of interest;
and what constitutes the unauthorized practice of law.

���� 6.� This act shall take effect
immediately.

STATEMENT

���� This bill prohibits an owner,
administrator, director, officer, or employee of a long-term care facility or
any person or entity affiliated or related to the owner, administrator,
director, officer, or employee from being eligible to act as an attorney-in-fact
for a principal.� A �principal� is defined in the bill as a resident of a
long-term care facility or an individual who is in the admission process to
enter a long-term care facility.� Further, the bill prohibits any person who
benefits financially from a long-term care facility from acting as an
attorney-in-fact. The bill explicitly states that these provisions are not to
be construed to prohibit a family member of a principal from acting as
attorney-in-fact for the principal.

���� The determination as to
whether to appoint an individual affiliated with a long-term care facility as
guardian of a principal is required to be made by the Superior Court in
consultation with the Office of the Public Guardian for Elderly Adults.� Under
the bill, a power of attorney instrument executed by a principal naming an
enumerated person is deemed invalid.

���� The bill provides that a
principal who sustains injury to person or property as a result of a violation
of the provisions regarding the principal�s attorney-in-fact and guardian are
to have a cause of action against any person who committed the violation
resulting in injury.� The action may be brought in any court of competent
jurisdiction to enforce the provisions and to recover:� 1) actual,
compensatory, and punitive damages, and other injunctive and equitable relief
as the court determines to be appropriate; 2) treble damages upon proof of
willful, malicious, or reckless disregard of the law; and 3) reasonable
attorney's fees and other litigation costs reasonably incurred by the
principal.

���� The bill requires the
Department of Health to develop a standard resident admission contract.� The
bill permits the department to develop unique standard resident admission
agreement forms for each type of long-term care facility, when appropriate.
Long-term care facilities are required to use the applicable admission contract
developed by the department beginning on the first day next following the sixth
month of the date of enactment.� The bill prohibits a long-term care facility
from requiring a resident to sign any other document at the time of, or as a
condition of, admission into care, including any arbitration agreement.

���� The bill requires an operator
of a long-term facility to provide each resident, or a resident�s
representative, notice that they may use an attorney to apply for Medicaid
long-term care benefits at the time of admission.� Further, the notice is
required to be posted conspicuously in the nursing home or health care
facility.

���� Finally, the bill requires the
Commissioner of Human Services to promulgate rules establishing uniform
standards of care for non-attorney individuals providing Medicaid application
assistance, including, but not limited to: (1) defining who is permitted to act
as a Medicaid application assistor before Medicaid agencies and the Office of
Administrative Law; (2) outlining the scope and nature of the services that
non-attorney Medicaid application assistors are authorized to provide; and (3)
requiring Medicaid application assistors to complete training on:� Medicaid
program rules; handling confidential financial and medical information;
conflicts of interest; and what constitutes the unauthorized practice of law.