ASSEMBLY APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

[First Reprint]

ASSEMBLY, No. 4620

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  JUNE 22, 2023

      The Assembly Appropriations Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Assembly Bill No. 4620 (1R).

      As amended by committee, under the bill, within 365 days of its effective date, the Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services (division) in the Department of Human Services and the State Board of Medical Examiners is required to develop and implement a process to improve the efficiency of reviewing NJ FamilyCare provider applications which is to include the State Board of Medical Examiners sharing relevant information with the Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services regarding physician licensure applicants who indicate an intent to enroll as NJ FamilyCare providers.

      To effectuate this goal, at a minimum, the State Board of Medical Examiners is to provide the division with the applicant’s license number, within five days of issuing the license number to the applicant.  If the applicant is not approved for licensure, the bill directs the State Board of Medical Examiners to provide the division with the appropriate documentation within five days of the determination.

      Moreover, to the extent possible and in accordance with the documentation submitted with the NJ FamilyCare provider application, the Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services is required to immediately begin to process each NJ FamilyCare provider application upon receipt of the application, provided that the application contains the necessary licensure information or demonstrates that the applicant is pending licensure approval from the State Board of Medical Examiners.  Within 10 days of receiving an applicant’s license number from the State Board of Medical Examiners, the division shall notify an applicant in writing, if applicable, of any additional information or documentation required by the division to enroll the applicant as an approved NJ FamilyCare physician.

      The bill explicitly provides that the provisions of the bill are not to be construed to alter the application requirements for State licensure or the enrollment requirements for a NJ FamilyCare provider, or to require the Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services to approve an applicant for NJ FamilyCare provider enrollment before the division has received the National Provider Identifier number for the applicant.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS

      The committee amendments remove provisions of the bill that require the Department of Human Services, in collaboration with the State Board of Medical Examiners, to implement a streamlined process to apply for enrollment as a NJ FamilyCare provider and for State licensure in a single application. 

      Instead, the amended bill requires the two entities to develop and implement a process to improve the efficiency of reviewing NJ FamilyCare provider applications, which is to include the State Board of Medical Examiners sharing relevant information with the Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services regarding physician licensure applicants who indicate an intent to enroll as NJ FamilyCare providers.  The amendments make changes to the bill’s synopsis to reflect these provisions.

      The committee amendments clarify that the State Board of Medical Examiners is required to provide the Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services with the applicant’s license number, rather than a copy of the applicant’s license. 

 The committee amendments clarify that the Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services is required to immediately begin processing each NJ FamilyCare provider application upon receipt of the application, provided that the application contains the necessary licensure information or demonstrates that the applicant is pending licensure approval from the State Board of Medical Examiners.

      The committee amendments clarify the Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services is not required to approve an applicant for NJ FamilyCare provider enrollment before the division has received the National Provider Identifier number for the applicant.

FISCAL IMPACT:

      The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) assumes that, to the extent that State costs increase in order to develop and implement a single application by which an individual could apply for State licensure as a physician and enroll as a NJ FamilyCare provider, the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety would increase the licensure fee charged to individuals seeking licensure to practice as a physician in the State.

      The OLS additionally concludes that any additional State costs under the bill could be absorbed by resources currently available to the Division of Consumer Affairs.  This is so because, in recent years, revenues collected by the Board of Medical Examiners, have routinely surpassed the Board’s annual expenditures.

      In response to an FY 2024 OLS Discussion Point, the Department of Law and Public Safety reported that the Board of Medical Examiners will transfer $14.5 million to the department to offset costs associated with the Division of Consumer Affairs’ activities in support of the Board.