Expands Medicare health care coverage to all New Jersey residents.

A4445

ASSEMBLY, No. 4445

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 24, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman� KATIE BRENNAN

District 32 (Hudson)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman Speight

SYNOPSIS

���� Expands Medicare health care coverage to all New
Jersey residents.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act

concerning health care coverage 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.� All residents of New
Jersey shall be provided with Medicare health care coverage under Title XVIII
of the federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. s.1395), regardless of the
person�s age, health, or disability status.�

���� b.��� The State shall apply to
the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for any waiver
of federal statute or regulation necessary to effectuate subsection a. of this
section.� The application shall include provisions to cover current recipients
of health care benefits from federal programs, including but not limited to
Medicaid and veterans� benefits, through the New Jersey Medicare program.� The
State shall review all State and local programs that provide health benefits to
ensure that those receiving such benefits are covered by the New Jersey
Medicare program.

���� c.���� CMS will estimate the
cost of providing Medicare for all New Jersey residents, and will deduct the
estimated revenue from Medicare and Medicaid payments that New Jersey
residents, the State of New Jersey, and the federal government pay to offset
those costs.� CMS will establish Medicare premiums for New Jersey residents
accordingly.

���� d.��� As used in this section,
�resident� means a person domiciled in the State for a period of 30 days
immediately preceding the date of application for inclusion in the Medicare
program.�

���� 2.��� No carrier, as that term
is defined in section 2 of P.L.1997, c.192 (C.26:2S-2), shall offer a health
benefits plan in this State that includes coverage for health care services
which are identical to or in any way duplicative of services which are provided
through any part of the Medicare program.�

���� 3.��� Section 1 of this act
shall take effect immediately.� Section 2 shall take effect upon the effective
date of federal action to comply with section 1 of this act, and shall apply to
policies or contracts issued or renewed on or after that date.

STATEMENT

���� This bill would expand the
federal Medicare health care coverage program to every New Jersey resident,
regardless of age, health, or disability status.� Currently, Medicare is
generally available only to people who are age 65 years or older, who have a disability,
or who have certain specified health conditions.� The bill defines a resident
as a person domiciled in the State for a period of 30 days immediately
preceding the date of application for inclusion in the Medicare program.�

���� The bill requires the State to
apply to the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for any
waiver of federal statute or regulation necessary to effectuate this expansion
of Medicare.� The application would allow New Jersey to replace federal, State,
and local health care programs with universal coverage through New Jersey
Medicare.� CMS would estimate the cost of providing Medicare for all New Jersey
residents, and will deduct the estimated revenue from Medicare and Medicaid
payments that New Jersey residents, the State of New Jersey, and the federal
government pay to offset those costs.� CMS will establish Medicare premiums for
New Jersey residents accordingly.

���� Upon the enactment of
universal Medicare coverage in New Jersey, the bill would prohibit any health
insurance carrier from offering a health benefits plan that includes coverage
for health care services covered by Medicare.� This provision would ensure full
participation in the Medicare program, which would increase enrollment and thus
spread the risk of insurance over a larger population to achieve greater cost
efficiency in the health care sector.

���� The purpose of this bill is to
establish a universal health care coverage program in New Jersey that builds
upon the long, successful history of the federal Medicare program.� In contrast
with most common private insurance plans, Medicare is affordable for nearly
everyone, offers greater patient choice in their health care providers, and has
much lower out-of-pocket costs.� Medicare is more efficient than private
insurance, having much lower administrative costs.� As an established federal
program, expanding Medicare would require no new State bureaucracy and no
difficult adjustment for health care providers to a new system.� Medicare could
provide low-cost health care coverage with to hundreds of thousands of New
Jersey residents who currently lack health coverage or who may lose coverage as
a result of increasingly complex, costly, and restrictive private health
insurance.