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A1880
ASSEMBLY, No. 1880
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman CLEOPATRA G. TUCKER
District 28 (Essex and Union)
SYNOPSIS
���� Permits reimbursement of COBRA health benefit costs
of survivors of certain deceased public safety employees; appropriates
$750,000.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.
��
An Act
concerning health benefit costs of survivors of
deceased public safety employees, supplementing chapter 18A of Title 52 of the
Revised Statutes, and making an appropriation.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� As used in P.L.��� ,
c.��� (C.��� ���) (pending before the Legislature as this bill):
���� "COBRA continuation
coverage" means health coverage provided pursuant to the federal
Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985.
���� "Formerly-covered
dependent" means a "dependent," as defined under
N.J.S.40A:10-16, of a public safety employee, which dependent has paid for
COBRA continuation coverage as the result of the public safety employee having
died while on duty, or within 24 hours of going off duty, so long as the
dependent had been under medical, drug, or other health care coverage through
the State Health Benefits Program, established pursuant to the "New Jersey
State Health Benefits Program Act," P.L.1961, c.49 (C.52:14-17.25 et seq.),
or through the public safety employee�s employer, until the time of the public
safety employee�s death.
���� "Public safety
employee" means a permanent, full-time member of a State, county, or
municipal law enforcement agency or a county sheriff's office who is
statutorily empowered to act for the detection, apprehension, arrest, and
conviction of offenders against the laws of this State; an active member in
good standing of a paid, part-paid, or volunteer fire department or of a duly
incorporated first aid, emergency, ambulance, or rescue squad; or a State or
county correctional officer.
���� "Qualifying
formerly-covered dependent" means a "formerly-covered dependent"
who properly submits an application pursuant to subsection a. of section 2 of P.L.���
, c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
���� 2.��� a.� On or before March 1
of each year, a formerly-covered dependent, or their legal guardian or head of
household acting on their behalf, may apply to the State Treasurer for a
reimbursement of the cost of the first six months of COBRA continuation coverage,
so long as that first six-month period ended during the preceding calendar
year.
���� b.��� The State Treasurer
shall annually reimburse qualifying formerly-covered dependents for the cost
actually paid for the first six months of COBRA continuation coverage.� If,
during any year, the amount of funding dedicated to formerly-covered dependent
reimbursement payments through the annual appropriations act is less than the
total amount applied for by qualifying formerly-covered dependents, then the
amount paid to each qualifying formerly-covered dependent shall be allocated
pro rata, based on the cost of the first six months of the COBRA continuation
coverage of each qualifying formerly-covered dependent.
���� c.���� The State Treasurer may
promulgate rules and regulations necessary to effectuate the purposes of this
act, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410
(C.52:14B-1 et seq.).
���� 3.��� There is appropriated
$750,000 from the General Fund to the Department of Treasury for the purpose of
implementation of P.L. , c.��� (C.������� ) (pending
before the Legislature as this bill).� The Legislature, to the extent possible,
shall ensure that sufficient appropriations from the General Fund are included
in subsequent appropriations acts to maintain the reimbursement established by P.L.���
, c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
���� 4.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.
STATEMENT
���� This bill
seeks to address the burdensome
cost of health insurance, as provided through federal COBRA continuation
coverage, by allowing the dependents of certain recently-deceased public safety
employees to apply to the State Treasurer for a reimbursement of the cost of
the first six months of COBRA continuation coverage.�
����� This bill addresses the concern raised by the Pension
and Health Benefits Review Commission that the prior version of the bill
requiring employers to continue coverage for six months after the employee�s
death would have made dependents ineligible for COBRA coverage altogether.�
COBRA continuation coverage ordinarily is available for 36 months.� This bill
is intended to not interfere with dependents� ability to keep COBRA coverage
for this full term if desired.
����� The COBRA reimbursement permitted under this bill
applies to the spouse and unmarried children of State and local public safety
employees, including State and local police, full-time, part-time and volunteer
firefighters, State and county correctional officers, and members of first aid,
emergency, ambulance or rescue squads, if the public safety employee died while
on duty, or within 24 hours of going off duty.� The COBRA reimbursement is only
available so long as the dependents were covered by health insurance through
the State Health Benefits Program, or otherwise through the public safety
employee�s employer, until the time of death.
����� To obtain a COBRA reimbursement, any dependent, for
whom the first six months of COBRA coverage ended during the previous calendar
year, may apply to the State Treasurer by March 1.
����� The bill appropriates $750,000 to the Department of
Treasury for the purpose of funding COBRA reimbursements, and encourages the
Legislature to appropriate sufficient funding in future years.� If, during any
year, the amount of funding dedicated to COBRA reimbursements by the annual
appropriations act is less than the total amount applied for by qualifying
dependents, then the State Treasurer shall allocate the COBRA reimbursement
payments on a pro rata basis according to the amount for which each dependent
has applied.