SENATE HEALTH, HUMAN SERVICES AND SENIOR CITIZENS COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 3023

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  FEBRUARY 9, 2026

      The Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Senate Bill No. 3023.

      As amended, this bill prohibits an owner, administrator, director, officer, or employee of a long-term care facility or any person or entity affiliated or related to the owner, administrator, director, officer, or employee from being eligible to act as an attorney-in-fact for a principal.  A “principal” is defined in the bill as a resident of a long-term care facility or an individual who is in the admission process to enter a long-term care facility.  Further, the bill prohibits any person who benefits financially from a long-term care facility from acting as an attorney-in-fact.  The bill explicitly states that these provisions are not to be construed to prohibit a family member of a principal from acting as attorney-in-fact for the principal.

      The determination as to whether to appoint an individual affiliated with a long-term care facility as guardian of a principal is required to be made by the Superior Court in consultation with the Office of the Public Guardian for Elderly Adults.  Under the bill, a power-of-attorney instrument executed by a principal naming an enumerated person is deemed invalid.

      The bill provides that a principal who sustains injury to person or property as a result of a violation of the provisions regarding the principal’s attorney-in-fact and guardian are to have a cause of action against any person who committed the violation resulting in injury.  The action may be brought in any court of competent jurisdiction to enforce the provisions and to recover:  1) actual, compensatory, and punitive damages, and other injunctive and equitable relief as the court determines to be appropriate; 2) treble damages upon proof of willful, malicious, or reckless disregard of the law; and 3) reasonable attorney's fees and other litigation costs reasonably incurred by the principal.

      The bill requires the Department of Health to develop a standard resident admission contract.  The bill requires the department to develop unique standard resident admission agreement forms for use by each type of long-term care facility, when appropriate.  Long-term care facilities are required to use the applicable admission contract developed by the department beginning on the first day next following the sixth month of the date of enactment.  The bill provides the manner in which a long-term care facility can require a resident or the resident’s representative to sign certain documentation at the time of, or as a condition of, admission into care.

      The bill requires an operator of a long-term facility to provide each resident, or a resident’s representative, notice that they may use an attorney to apply for Medicaid long-term care benefits at the time of admission.  Further, the notice is required to be posted conspicuously in the nursing home or health care facility.

      The bill requires each operator of a long term care facility subject to 42 C.F.R. s.483.70 to provide each resident, or a resident’s representative, notice that the facility is subject to federal regulations which prohibit it from requiring any resident or his or her representative to sign an agreement for binding arbitration as a condition of admission to, or as a requirement to continue to receive care at, the facility.

      Finally, the bill requires the Commissioner of Human Services to promulgate rules establishing uniform standards of care for non-attorney individuals providing Medicaid application assistance, including, but not limited to:  (1) defining who is permitted to act as a Medicaid application assistor before Medicaid agencies and the Office of Administrative Law; (2) outlining the scope and nature of the services that non-attorney Medicaid application assistors are authorized to provide; and (3) requiring Medicaid application assistors to complete training on:  Medicaid program rules; handling confidential financial and medical information; conflicts of interest; and what constitutes the unauthorized practice of law.

      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 long-term acute care hospitals from the scope of certain provisions of the bill.