Read the full stored bill text
A2298
ASSEMBLY, No. 2298
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman MARGIE DONLON, M.D.
District 11 (Monmouth)
Assemblywoman� VERLINA REYNOLDS-JACKSON
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
SYNOPSIS
���� Requires hospitals to maintain minimum services when
relocating from underserved community.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.
��
An Act
concerning hospital services in underserved
communities 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.�
Notwithstanding the provision of any law or regulation to
the contrary, a hospital licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et
seq.), for which the Department of Health has approved a certificate of need
application to relocate from its location in an underserved community, shall
maintain at its original location in the underserved community the minimum
professional departments, inpatient beds, services, facilities, and functions that
a general acute care hospital licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136
(C.26:2H-1 et seq.) is required to provide pursuant to N.J.A.C.8:33-3.1.
���� b.��� The professional
departments, inpatient beds, services, facilities, and functions required to be
maintained at the original location, pursuant to subsection a. of this section,
shall be provided under the same license as the relocated hospital.
���� c.���� As used in this act:
���� �Hospital� shall mean a
general acute care hospital licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et
seq.).
���� �Underserved community� means a
municipality with a population greater than 30,000 residents in calendar year
2024, according to the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, and
which: (1) is within a Medically Underserved Area or includes a Medically
Underserved Population, as designated by the Health Resources and Services
Administration in the United States Department of Health and Human Services in
2025; (2) has an Index of Medical Underservice Score, as designated by the
Health Resources and Services Administration, that is less than, or equal to,
62.0 in 2025; and (3) has been identified as a medically underserved
municipality by the Commissioner of Health based on the New Jersey Medically
Underserved Index.
���� 2.��� The Commissioner of
Health shall, in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure Act,"
P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.). adopt rules and regulations as necessary
to implement this act.
���� 3. This act shall take effect immediately,
and shall apply
retroactively to any hospital
relocations approved by the Department of Health in the 12 months prior to the
effective date that also meet the provisions of section 1 of this act.
STATEMENT
���� This bill requires that a
general acute care hospital licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et
seq.), for which the Department of Health (the department) has approved a
certificate of need application to relocate from its location in an underserved
community, is required to maintain at its original location the minimum
professional departments, inpatient beds, services, facilities, and functions
that a hospital licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.) is
required to provide pursuant to N.J.A.C.8:33-3.1. �The bill further provides
that the departments, inpatient beds, services, facilities and functions to be
maintained at the hospital�s original location in an underserved community will
be provided under the same license as the relocated hospital.
���� The provisions of the bill
will take effect immediately, and will apply retroactively to any hospital
relocations, approved by the department in the 12 months prior to the effective
date, that also meet the bill�s requirements.