SENATE BUDGET AND APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE
STATEMENT TO
SENATE, No. 5035
with committee amendments
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
DATED: JANUARY 8, 2026
The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Senate Bill No. 5035.
This bill, as amended, requires the Department of Human Services (department), within 180 days of the effective date of the bill, to study the ways by which the State may increase collaboration between State academic institutions, Level 1 and Level 2 trauma centers as designated by the Department of Health and any other healthcare provider, and Medicaid managed care organizations to optimize federal and State Medicaid resources needed to support long-term, sustainable improvements in the quality of healthcare across New Jersey. The department is permitted to contract with a third-party entity to comply with this requirement, and is required to apply for any federal Medicaid waivers or State plan amendments necessary to implement this provision and ensure continued federal reimbursement for State expenditures under the Medicaid program. Finally, the bill appropriates $250,000 from the General Fund to the department to fulfill these provisions.
COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:
The committee amendments require the Department of Human Services to “study the ways” by which the State may increase collaboration between various entities, rather than to “development a framework”, which was the requirement in the introduced bill. The committee amendments update the bill’s synopsis to reflect this change.
The committee amendments expand the entities by which the State may increase collaboration under the bill to include Level 2 trauma centers as designated by the Department of Health. As introduced these entities included: State academic institutions, Level 1 trauma centers as designated by the Department of Health, other healthcare providers, and Medicaid managed care organizations.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Fiscal information for this bill is currently unavailable.