SENATE HEALTH, HUMAN SERVICES AND SENIOR CITIZENS COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 4792

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  NOVEMBER 13, 2025

      The Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Senate Bill No. 4792.

      This bill, as amended, shifts a $45 million FY2026 appropriation for opioid related care and treatment provided at certain hospitals from the Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund to the General Fund.  Specifically, the bill makes a FY 2026 supplemental appropriation of $45 million from the General Fund to the Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services in the Department of Human Services (division) for Opioid Hospital Initiatives.  These funds are required to be distributed to the following hospitals, in the amounts indicated, and used for the purpose of providing necessary care and treatment for victims of opioid-related health issues consistent with the Opioid Recovery and Remediation Advisory Council’s most recent strategic plan: $10 million to Hackensack, $15 million to RWJ Barnabas, $15 million to Cooper, and $5 million to Atlantic Health.  Each hospital, as a condition of receiving funds, is required to submit a quarterly report to the Commissioner of Human Services until all funds received under the bill are expended.  The reports are to provide: a description of the use of all funds expended, the number of individuals served under each use, outcomes data associated with the expended funds, the balance of any remaining funds, and any additional information required by the commissioner.  Consistent with guidelines from the United States Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, and subject to any required federal approval, the amounts appropriated under the bill may be utilized by the division to maximize federal Medicaid funds.

      Additionally, this bill, as amended, removes general provision 111 from the FY 2026 appropriations act, which provides for the appropriation of $45 million from the Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund to the division for the identical purpose and distribution as required under the bill.  Under P.L.2023, c.25, the Department of Human Services administers the non-lapsing Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund, where settlement-agreement payments are deposited from producers and distributors of opioid-based pharmaceuticals concerning their alleged liability for the nationwide opioid epidemic.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

      The committee amendments update the line-item name of the $45 million supplemental appropriation from the General Fund made under the bill from Opioid Recovery and Remediation Advisory Council Recommendations to Opioid Hospital Initiatives.  The amendments also eliminate budget language that would require the Department of Human Services to use the supplemental appropriation to carry out the strategic plan issued by the Opioid Recovery and Remediation Advisory Council.  Instead, the amended bill requires the supplemental appropriation to be distributed to the following hospitals, in the amounts indicated, for the purpose of providing necessary care and treatment for victims of opioid-related health issues consistent with the Opioid Recovery and Remediation Advisory Council’s most recent strategic plan: $10 million to Hackensack, $15 million to RWJ Barnabas, $15 million to Cooper, and $5 million to Atlantic Health.

      The committee amendments repeal general provision 111 from the FY 2026 appropriations act which provides for the distribution of $45 million from the Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund to the Department of Human services for the same purposes.