Establishes Health Equity Access and Leadership Fund; appropriates $25 million from General Fund, and allocates portion of Health Care Subsidy Fund revenues, to fund.

A2326

ASSEMBLY, No. 2326

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman LUANNE M. PETERPAUL

District 11 (Monmouth)

Assemblyman� CODY D. MILLER

District 4 (Atlantic, Camden and Gloucester)

SYNOPSIS

���� Establishes Health Equity Access and Leadership Fund;
appropriates $25 million from General Fund, and allocates portion of Health
Care Subsidy Fund revenues, to fund.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

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

��

An Act

concerning health equity, access, and
leadership; amending and supplementing P.L.1992, c.160; and making an
appropriation.

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

���� 1.��� Section 8 of P.L.1992,
c.160 (C.26:2H-18.58) is amended to read as follows:�

���� 8.��� There is established the
Health Care Subsidy Fund in the Department of Health.

���� a.���� The fund shall be
comprised of revenues from employee and employer contributions made pursuant to
section 29 of P.L.1992, c.160 (C.43:21-7b), revenues from the hospital
assessment made pursuant to section 12 of P.L.1992, c.160 (C.26:2H-18.62),
revenues pursuant to section 11 of P.L.1996, c.28 (C.26:2H-18.58c), revenues
from interest and penalties collected pursuant to
[
this act
]
P.L.1992,
c.160 (C.26:2H-18.51 et seq.)
and revenues from other sources as the
Legislature shall determine.� Interest earned on the monies in the fund shall
be credited to the fund.� The fund shall be a nonlapsing fund dedicated for use
by the State to:� (1) distribute charity care and other uncompensated care
disproportionate share payments to hospitals, and other eligible providers
pursuant to section 8 of P.L.1996, c.28 (C.26:2H-18.59f), provide subsidies for
the Health Access New Jersey program established pursuant to section 15 of
P.L.1992, c.160 (C.26:2H-18.65), and provide funding for children's health care
coverage in the NJ FamilyCare Program pursuant to P.L.2005, c.156 (C.30:4J-8 et
al.); (2) provide funding for federally qualified health centers pursuant to
section 12 of P.L.1992, c.160 (C.26:2H-18.62);
[
and
]
(3) provide for the payment in
State fiscal year 2002 of appropriate Medicaid expenses, subject to the
approval of the Director of the Division of Budget and Accounting
; and (4)
provide for allocations to the Health Equity Access and Leadership Fund, pursuant
to section 2 of

P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� ) (pending
before the Legislature as this bill)
.

���� b.��� The fund shall be
administered by a person appointed by the commissioner.

���� The administrator of the fund
is responsible for overseeing and coordinating the collection and reimbursement
of fund monies.� The administrator is responsible for promptly informing the
commissioner if monies are not or are not reasonably expected to be collected
or disbursed.

���� c.���� The commissioner shall
adopt rules and regulations to ensure the integrity of the fund, pursuant to
the "Administrative Procedure

Act," P.L.1968, c.410
(C.52:14B-1 et seq.).

���� d.��� The administrator shall
establish separate accounts for the charity care component of the
disproportionate share hospital subsidy, other uncompensated care component of
the disproportionate share hospital subsidy, federally qualified health centers
funding,
Health Equity Access and Leadership Fund component, as establish
pursuant to section 2 of

P.L.��� , c.��� (C. ) (pending
before the Legislature as this bill)
,
and the payments for subsidies
for insurance premiums to provide care in disproportionate share hospitals,
known as the Health Access New Jersey subsidy account, respectively.

���� e.���� In the event that the
charity care component of the disproportionate share hospital subsidy account
has a surplus in a given year after payments are distributed pursuant to the
methodology established in section 13 of P.L.1995, c.133 (C.26:2H-18.59b) and
section 7 of P.L.1996, c.28 (C.26:2H-18.59e) and within the limitations
provided in subsection e. of section 9 of P.L.1992, c.160 (C.26:2H-18.59), the
surplus monies in calendar years 2002, 2003 and 2004 shall lapse to the
unemployment compensation fund established pursuant to R.S.43:21-9, and each
year thereafter shall lapse to the charity care component of the
disproportionate share hospital subsidy account for distribution in subsequent
years.

(cf: P.L.2012, c.17, s.223)

���� 2.��� (New section)� a.� The
administrator of the Health Care Subsidy Fund, as appointed pursuant to
subsection b. of section 8 of P.L.1992, c. 160 (C.26:2H-18.58), shall establish
a separate non-lapsing dedicated account known as the Health Equity Access and Leadership,
or HEAL, Fund within the Health Care Subsidy Fund.�

���� b.���
The HEAL Fund shall be the repository for:

���� (1)�� monies allocated by the Commissioner of Health
from the Health Care Subsidy Fund, commencing
upon July 1 next following
the enactment of
P.L.���
, c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), and
annually thereafter, which amount shall be equal to at least 0.1 percent of the
revenue projected to be deposited into the Health Care Subsidy Fund in the
applicable State fiscal year;

���� (2)�� funds appropriated pursuant to section 3 of P.L.��� ,
c. (C. ) (pending
before the Legislature as this bill); and

���� (3)
��
any other funds approved by the
Commissioner of Health
including from public or private sources such as
gifts, grants, or donations
.

���� c.���� Moneys deposited in the HEAL Fund, and any
interest earned thereon,
shall be distributed by the Commissioner of
Health via a competitive grant process to health care community-based
organizations and service providers that:

���� (1)�� provide
essential health care services to:

���� (a)�� underserved or
underinsured patient populations for which access has been reduced due to a
substantial loss of State or federal funds; and

���� (b)�� all patients regardless
of the patient�s race, creed, color, national origin, nationality, immigration
status, ancestry, age, marital status, civil union status, domestic partnership
status, affectional or sexual orientation, genetic information, pregnancy, sex,
gender identity or expression, disability, atypical hereditary cellular or
blood trait, or liability for service in the Armed Forces of the United States;
and

���� (2)�� have not received any
revenue from a federal funding source in the 12 months prior to the application
submission date.

���� d.��� The Commissioner of
Health shall:

���� (1)�� establish the process
and criteria by which organizations and providers shall be determined eligible
for a grant from the HEAL Fund, which criteria, at a minimum, shall include the
requirements enumerated in subsection c. of this section and well as the applicant�s
need for funds to maintain existing services; and

���� (2)�� issue grant awards
according to an assessment of the applicant�s eligibility according to the
criteria established pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection and the
availability of funds.

���� e.���� The Commissioner of
Health shall submit an annual report to the Governor and,
pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1)
,
to the Legislature, no later than March 1 of each year following the first
allocation into the HEAL Fund pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection b. of
this section, detailing:

���� (1)�� total receipts and
sources of moneys deposited into the HEAL Fund;

���� (2)�� total expenditures from
the HEAL Fund, disaggregated by grant amount, recipient, and purpose;

���� (3)�� geographic distribution
of services, and demographic characteristics of service recipients, funded by
grant awards;

���� (4)�� outcomes related to
healthcare access, healthcare equity, and patient health under programs and
services supported by grants awarded from the HEAL Fund; and

���� (5)�� recommendations for
continued or expanded support of the HEAL Fund.

���� 3.���
There
is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Health $25,000,000 to
be deposited into
the Health Equity Access and Leadership Fund,
established pursuant to section 2 of

P.L.��� , c.���
(C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill)
.

���� 4.���
The
Department of Health, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act,"
P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), shall adopt rules and regulations
necessary to implement the provisions of this bill.

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

STATEMENT

���� This bill establishes the
Health Equity Access and Leadership (HEAL) Fund, a separate non-lapsing
dedicated account within the Health Care Subsidy Fund.� The Health Care Subsidy
Fund (HCSF) receives its revenues from several State taxes, among them the cigarette
tax and the HMO Premiums Assessment.� With this revenue, the HCSF supports
various health care initiatives throughout the State, including NJ FamilyCare
and Charity Care.� Under the bill, the HCSF is expanded to include an
allocation to support the HEAL Fund.

���� The Commissioner of Health
(commissioner) is to use the HEAL Fund to distribute competitive grants to
health care community-based organizations and service providers that provide
essential health care services to: 1) underserved or underinsured patient populations
for which access has been reduced due to a substantial loss of State or federal
funds; and 2) all patients regardless of the patient�s race, creed, immigration
status, age, relationship status, and various other characteristics.��
Additionally, the grants are to be distributed to applicants who have not
received any revenue from a federal funding source in the 12 months prior to
the application submission date.

���� In addition to annual
allocations from the HCSF, which are required to be equal to
at least 0.1 percent
of the revenue projected to be deposited into the HCSF in the applicable State
fiscal year
,
the HEAL Fund
is also the repository of a $25 million appropriation from the General Fund
made under the bill and

any other
funds approved by the commissioner.� For reference, in State fiscal year 2026,
0.1 percent of the projected revenue deposited into the HCSF is approximately
$2 million.

���� The distribution of grant
awards is to be according to the availability of funds, and the process and
criteria established by the commissioner.� Eligibility criteria, at a minimum,
is to include the requirements outlined in the bill as well as the applicant�s
need for funds to maintain existing services.

���� The commissioner is also
required to submit an annual report to the Governor and to the Legislature
detailing HEAL Fund activity and grant awards; as well as recommendations for
continued or expanded support of the HEAL Fund.