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

S3023 1R

[First Reprint]

SENATE, No. 3023

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Senator� JOSEPH F. VITALE

District 19 (Middlesex)

Co-Sponsored by:

Senators Burgess and Ruiz

SYNOPSIS

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

�

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As reported by the Senate Health, Human Services and
Senior Citizens Committee on February 9, 2026, with amendments.

��

An Act
concerning individuals in long-term care facilities and
supplementing Titles 26 and 46 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, 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
1
[
or long-term
acute care hospital
]
1

or an individual who is in the admission process to enter a long-term care
facility
1
[
or long-term
acute care hospital
]
1
.

���� b.��� No owner, administrator,
director, officer, or employee of a long-term care facility
1
[
or long-term
acute care hospital
]
1
,
person or entity affiliated with or related to an owner, administrator,
director, officer, or employee of a long-term care facility
1
[
or long-term
acute care hospital
]
1
,
or other person who benefits financially from a long-term care facility
1
[
or long-term
acute care hospital
]
1

shall be authorized to manage the financial 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
1
[
or long-term
acute care hospital
]
1

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
1
[
or long-term
acute care hospital
]
1

, person or entity affiliated with or related to an owner, administrator,
director, officer, or employee of a long-term care
1
[
or long-term
acute care hospital
]
1
,
or other person who benefits financially from a long-term care facility
1
[
or long-term
acute care hospital
]
1

, 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
1
[
or long-term
acute care hospital
]
1

, a person or entity affiliated with or related to an owner, administrator,
director, officer, or employee of a long-term care facility
1
[
or long-term
acute care hospital
]
1

, or another person who benefits financially from a long-term care facility
1
[
or long-term
acute care hospital
]
1

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
1
[
or long-term
acute care hospital
]
1

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, 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.).

����� �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 shall develop unique standard resident admission agreement forms for
use by each type of long-term care facility, when appropriate.� The department,
in developing the standard resident admission agreement form, shall solicit
input from interested stakeholder groups including, but not limited to,
representatives of the long-term care industry, the State Long-Term Care
Ombudsman, elder law attorneys, and resident advocacy groups.

���� 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 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.���� Except as set forth in
subsection e. of this section, 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 acknowledgements

required
pursuant to sections 4 and 5� of this act.�

���� d.��� 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.

���� e.� No provision of the
standard resident admission agreement� or this act shall be interpreted or
construed to limit the ability of an assisted living provider and resident to
enter into an individualized resident service plan, health service plan, or managed
risk agreement in accordance with N.J.A.C. 8:36-1.1 et seq. provided that
nothing in the individualized resident service plan, health service plan, or
managed risk agreement shall be inconsistent with the standard resident
admission agreement.

���� 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.�

���� 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. 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 subject to 42 C.F.R. s.483.70 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:

���� "This facility is subject
to federal regulations which prohibit it from requiring any resident or his or
her representative to sign an agreement for binding arbitration as a condition
of admission to, or as a requirement to continue to receive care at, the
facility.� Federal regulations require that this facility explicitly inform the
resident or his or her representative of his or her right not to sign the
agreement as a condition of admission to, or as a requirement to continue to
receive care at, the facility."

���� b.��� A resident of a
long-term care facility subject to 42 C.F.R. s.483.70, 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 care facility subject to 42 C.F.R. s.483.70 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.

����� 6.�� 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.

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