ASSEMBLY HEALTH COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 1663

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  MARCH 9, 2026

      The Assembly Health Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Assembly Bill No. 1663.

      As amended by the committee, this bill requires the Department of Health to study the cost of establishing a long-term health care benefit for certain individuals.

     Under the bill, the Commissioner of Health (commissioner) is to study modeling of public and private options for leveraging private resources to help individuals prepare for long-term health care services and support needs.  The study is to model two options:  (1) a public long-term health care benefit for workers, funded through a payroll deduction that would provide a time-limited long-term health care insurance benefit; and (2) a public-private reinsurance or risk-sharing model, with the purpose of providing a stable and ongoing source of reimbursement to insurers for a portion of the insurer’s catastrophic long-term health care services and supports losses in order to provide additional insurance capacity for the State. 

     Within 365 days following the bill’s effective date, the commissioner is to prepare and submit a report containing all relevant findings to the Governor, and to the Legislature, including the Chairs of the Assembly Aging and Human Services, the Assembly Health Committee, and Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committees, or their respective successor committees.  The report is to include any recommendations for legislation or regulatory changes that would address long-term care health benefits, and include input from interested stakeholders.  The report is to also include an analysis that considers:  (1) the expected costs and benefits for participants; (2) the total anticipated number of participants; (3) the projected savings to the State’s Medicaid program, if any; and (4) the legal and financial risks to the State. 

     Presently, the cost for long-term health care in New Jersey may exceed $65,000 a year.  The current average length of stay in a long-term care facility is 2.5 years.  One national study, which projected nursing home use, suggested that, of the approximately 2.2 million persons reaching age 65 each year, more than 900,000 are expected to enter a nursing home.  A similar study reported that, among people who live to age 65, one in four would spend at least one year or more in a nursing home or other type of long-term care facility.

      This bill was pre-filed for introduction in the 2026-2027 session pending technical review.  As reported, the bill includes the changes required by technical review, which has been performed.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

     The committee amendments remove the requirement that the Commissioner of Health’s report include input from the Assembly Aging and Human Services and Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committees and associated provisions and instead require the report to be submitted to the Chairs of those committees, as well as the Chair of the Assembly Health Committee.