LEGISLATIVE FISCAL ESTIMATE
SENATE, No. 850
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
DATED: MARCH 10, 2026
SUMMARY
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Synopsis: |
"Public-Private Alliance to Retain Talent and Expand Regional Health Program Act"; creates grant program within DOH for student-loan and tuition relief and appropriates $5 million.
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Type of Impact: |
Annual increase in State expenditures. |
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Agencies Affected: |
Department of Health. |
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Office of Legislative Services Estimate |
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Fiscal Impact |
Year 1 |
Year 2 and Beyond |
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State Expenditure Increase |
Up to $5.0 million |
Indeterminate |
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· The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) determines that State costs will increase by up to $5.0 million in the first year following the bill’s enactment for the Department of Health to award grants to servicers to provide student loan or tuition relief for health care professionals and students who sign a three-year employment agreement with an in-State partner hospital. Program costs in subsequent years will be dependent on the number of health care professionals and students who participate in the program and any additional appropriations for the program.
· The bill may result in indeterminate, but likely marginal, cost increases for the department to administer the new grant program, to the extent that existing staff and resources are insufficient to implement the bill’s provisions.
BILL DESCRIPTION
The bill establishes the Public-Private Alliance to Retain Talent and Expand Regional Health Program within the Department of Health to recruit and retain certain health care professionals and health care professional students by helping the professionals and students secure post-graduate employment at an in-State partner hospital, in exchange for student loan or tuition relief. The department will award grants to one or more recruitment and retention servicers to provide up to $10,000 in student loan or tuition relief, or $30,000 in total, to each health care professional and student who signs a three-year employment agreement with an in-State partner hospital.
The bill also stipulates that a servicer must secure agreements of a 200 percent non-State sourced funding match from each partner hospital in order to receive State grant funding, unless the partner hospital is University Hospital.
The bill appropriates $5.0 million from the State General Fund to effectuate the purposes of the program.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
None received.
OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE SERVICES
The OLS determines that State costs will increase by up to $5.0 million in the first year following the bill’s enactment for the Department of Health to award grants to servicers to provide student loan or tuition relief for health care professionals and students who sign a three-year employment agreement with an in-State partner hospital. Program costs in subsequent years will be dependent on the number of health care professionals and students who participate in the program and any additional appropriations for the program.
Under a hypothetical scenario in which the new program enrolls a single cohort of 166 participants signing a three-year employment agreement with an in-State partner hospital, State expenditures would increase by as much as $1.67 million in each of the three years of the cohort’s service. However, participation trends in other State loan redemption programs suggest that the actual cohort size for this program could be smaller. Table 1 shows participation trends for FY 2020 through FY 2025 for the Primary Care Practitioner Loan Redemption Program and the Behavioral Healthcare Provider Loan Redemption Program, which are administered by the New Jersey Higher Education Student Assistance Authority.
Table 1: Participation trends for other State-funded loan redemption programs
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Fiscal Year |
Primary Care Practitioner LRP No. Participants |
Behavioral Healthcare Provider LRP No. Participants |
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2020 |
6 |
N/A |
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2021 |
6 |
N/A |
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2022 |
6 |
N/A |
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2023 |
18 |
50 |
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2024 |
14 |
43 |
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2025 |
7 |
72 |
Source: FY 2020-FY 2024 data: Higher Education Student Assistance Authority (HESAA) response to OLS FY 2026 Discussion Point Question No. 3. FY 2025 data from HESAA Fiscal Years 2024 & 2025 Annual Report.
Given that the bill broadly defines “health care professional” to include nearly all health care professionals licensed or otherwise authorized under Titles 45 and 52 of the Revised Statutes, with few exceptions, the OLS would anticipate that program participation trends would more closely approximate those of the Behavioral Healthcare Provider Loan Redemption Program, rather than the more restrictive Primary Care Practitioner Loan Redemption Program. For illustrative purposes only, Table 2 shows the possible range of annual program costs based on annual cohort sizes of 40 and 70 participants over three years.
Table 2: Potential program costs by cohort size
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Program Year |
Avg. Cohort of 40 Participants |
Avg. Cohort of 70 Participants |
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Single Cohort |
All Cohorts |
Single Cohort |
All Cohorts |
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Year 1 |
$400,000 |
$400,000 |
$700,000 |
$700,000 |
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Year 2 |
$400,000 |
$800,000 |
$700,000 |
$1.4 million |
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Year 3 & on |
$400,000 |
$1.2 million |
$700,000 |
$2.1 million |
The OLS notes that potential interaction between the grant program established under the bill and other existing health care professional loan redemption programs in the State, such as the Behavioral Healthcare Provider Loan Redemption Program, is unknown. Given that the bill does not prohibit health care professionals or students from participating in multiple student loan redemption or repayment assistance programs available at the State or federal level, some health care professionals and students may qualify for more than one form of State-funded assistance.
The bill may result in indeterminate, but likely marginal, cost increases for the department to administer the new grant program, to the extent that existing staff and resources are insufficient to implement the bill’s provisions. Absent information from the department, the OLS lacks the informational basis to determine these administrative costs.
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Section: |
Human Services |
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Analyst: |
Senior Fiscal Analyst |
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Approved: |
Thomas Koenig Legislative Budget and Finance Officer |
This legislative fiscal estimate has been produced by the Office of Legislative Services due to the failure of the Executive Branch to respond to our request for a fiscal note.
This fiscal estimate has been prepared pursuant to P.L.1980, c.67 (C.52:13B-6 et seq.).