S 166

SENATE, No. 166
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator PATRICK J. DIEGNAN, JR.
District 18 (Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
���� Requires DOH to establish Community Health Center
Integrated Care Loan Program; appropriates funds for purpose of loan program.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.
��
An Act concerning integrated health care at certain
community health centers, supplementing Title 26 of the Revised Statutes, and
making an appropriation.
���� Be It
Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� As used in the act,
���� �Commissioner� means the
Commissioner of Health.
���� �Community health center�
means a federally qualified health center (FQHC), an
ambulatory care facility, a certified community behavioral health clinic
(CCBHC), a behavioral health program, and a substance use disorder facility.
���� �Medicaid�
means the Medicaid program established pursuant to P.L.1968, c.413
(C.30:4D-1 et seq.).
���� 2.��� a.� The Commissioner of
Health, in collaboration with the Commissioner of Human Services, shall
establish the Community Health Center Integrated Care Loan Program.� The
purpose of the loan program shall be to provide zero percent interest,
short-term financing loans to community health centers to support the
integration of the center�s existing health services with an additional
modality of care.� Eligible modalities of care under the loan program shall
include:� primary care services, behavioral health care services, and substance
abuse disorder services.
���� b.��� A community health
center that elects to participate in the loan program
shall submit an application to the commissioner on a form and in a manner
prescribed by the commissioner.� The application shall, at a minimum, require
the center to provide the following:
���� (1)�� a description of the
existing health care services offered at the center and of the new modality of
care that will be integrated within the center upon receipt of the loan;
���� (2)�� a requested loan amount,
along with a corresponding budget outlining how the funds will be expended to
achieve integration of the new modality of care;
���� (3)�� data which demonstrates
that the center is in need a financial resources to successfully provide an
additional modality of care; and
���� (4)�� information on the
community health center�s patient population.
���� c.���� Upon receipt of an application, the commissioner shall review the
application and, subject to evaluation and the availability of funds
appropriated to the Community Health Center Integrated Care Loan Fund, established pursuant to section 2 of this act, award
a loan to each approved applicant within 30 days of the receipt of an
application.� The commissioner, to the maximum extent practicable, shall
equitably distribute loans to successful applicants in the northern, central,
and southern regions of the State.� The commissioner shall give priority to
centers that are located in areas with a high Medicaid population, as
determined by the commissioner.
���� d.��� Loan
recipients shall use funds received pursuant to this act for the following purposes associated with the integration
of a new modality of care:
���� (1)�� staff
and training costs;
���� (2)�� licensure
fees;
���� (3)�� infrastructure
improvements required to comply with licensure requirements; and
���� (4)�� any
other costs approved by the commissioner in the application process.
���� 3.��� a.�� The Community
Health Center Integrated Care Loan Fund is established as a nonlapsing,
revolving fund, which shall be administered by the Department of Health. �The
fund shall be credited with monies received from the General Fund, pursuant to
section 4 of this act, as well as the federal government, private foundations,
or other sources, which may be available to support the Community Health Center
Integrated Care Loan Program.
���� b.��� The State Treasurer is
the custodian of the fund, and all disbursements from the fund shall be made by
the State Treasurer upon vouchers signed by the commissioner. The monies in the
fund shall be invested and reinvested by the Director of the Division of
Investment in the Department of the Treasury as are other trust funds in the
custody of the State Treasurer in the manner provided by law. Interest received
on the monies in the fund shall be credited to the fund.
���� 4.��� There are hereby
appropriated from the General Fund to the Community Health Center Integrated
Care Loan Fund, established pursuant to section 3 of this act, such sums as may
be necessary for the implementation of this act, as determined by the Commissioner
of Health, in collaboration with the Commissioner of Human Services.�
���� 5.��� Pursuant
to the �Administrative Procedure Act,� P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.),
the Commissioner of Health, in collaboration with the Commissioner of
Human Services and the State Treasurer, shall adopt
rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of this act.
���� 6.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.
STATEMENT
���� This bill requires the
Commissioner of Health, in collaboration with the Commissioner of Human
Services, to establish the Community Health Center Integrated Care Loan
Program.� The purpose of the loan program is to provide zero percent interest,
short-term financing loans to community health centers to support the
integration of the center�s existing health services with an additional
modality of care.� Under the bill, a �community health center� means a federally qualified health center (FQHCs), an ambulatory
care facility, a certified community behavioral health clinic (CCBHC), a
behavioral health program, and a substance use disorder facility.� Eligible
modalities of care include:� primary care services, behavioral health care
services, and substance abuse disorder services.
���� Research demonstrates that integrating
physical and behavioral health care services enhances
access to services, improves quality of care and patient outcomes, and lowers
overall health care costs.� However, funding constraints often make the shift
to integrated care difficult for community health centers that lack the capital
to make the initial staffing and infrastructure investments needed to comply
with the additional licensure requirements.� It is the sponsor�s goal that this
loan program will provide the opportunity to the State�s health care providers,
who serve the most vulnerable residents, to offer the benefits of integrated
care to their patients.
���� A community health center that elects to participate in the loan program is required to
submit an application to the commissioner on a form and in a manner prescribed
by the commissioner.� The application, at a minimum, is to require the center
to provide the following: 1) a description of the existing health care
services offered at the center and of the new modality of care that will be
integrated within the center upon receipt of the loan; 2) a requested loan
amount, along with a corresponding budget outlining how the funds will be expended
to achieve integration of the new modality of care; 3) data which demonstrates
that the center is in need a financial resources to successfully provide an
additional modality of care; and 4) information on the community health
center�s patient population.
���� Upon
receipt of an application, the commissioner is to review the application and,
subject to evaluation and the availability of funds in the Community
Health Center Integrated Care Loan Fund, award a loan
to each approved applicant within 30 days of the receipt of an application.�
The Community Health Center Integrated Care Loan
Fund is a non-lapsing revolving fund established under the bill and credited
with monies received from the General Fund as well as any monies available from
the federal government, private foundations, or other sources.� The commissioner, to the maximum extent practicable, is
required to equitably distribute loans to successful applicants in the
northern, central, and southern regions of the State and give priority to
centers that are located in areas with a high Medicaid population, as
determined by the commissioner.
���� Loan
recipients are required to use the funds for the
following purposes associated with the integration of a new modality of care:�
1) staff and training costs; 2) licensure fees; 3) infrastructure improvements
required to comply with licensure requirements; and 4) any other costs approved
by the commissioner in the application process.