Bill Text: NJ A4057 | 2016-2017 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Provides Medicaid coverage for services to treat and prevent Zika virus infection and associated health outcomes.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-09-15 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee [A4057 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2016-A4057-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman ANNETTE QUIJANO
District 20 (Union)
SYNOPSIS
Provides Medicaid coverage for services to treat and prevent Zika virus infection and associated health outcomes.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning medical treatment and prevention of the Zika virus and supplementing Title 30 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services in the Department of Human Services shall include within the Medicaid and NJ FamilyCare benefit packages for all recipients, consistent with federal requirements, coverage and reasonable reimbursement rates for medically appropriate Zika virus prevention and treatment measures, which shall include, but need not be limited to:
a. medically prescribed mosquito repellents;
b. family planning services including family planning counseling, barrier contraceptives, oral contraceptives, and long-acting reversible contraceptive devices and implants and their insertion and removal;
c. diagnostic services including computer-aided tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasounds, blood tests, urine tests, and genetic counseling;
d. targeted case management services for children born with disabilities related to the Zika virus; and
e. physical therapy and other rehabilitative therapies for individuals recovering from Zika related disabilities, including Guillain-Barre syndrome.
2. The Commissioner of Human Services shall apply for such State plan amendments or waivers as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this act and to secure federal financial participation for State Medicaid expenditures under the federal Medicaid program.
3. The Commissioner of Human Services, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), shall adopt rules and regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this act.
4. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill requires the State Medicaid program to include coverage for services related to the prevention and treatment of the Zika virus. Zika is an infectious disease most often transmitted through the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito, and which can also be transmitted sexually. The most common symptoms of Zika virus are mild flu-like symptoms, but Zika virus infection during pregnancy has been associated with serious birth defects of the brain such as microcephaly, and has also been linked to Guillain-Barre syndrome.
Outbreaks of the Zika virus have been reported in Africa, the South Pacific, and since 2015 in South and Central America and the Caribbean region. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported that, as of August 2016, 2,722 cases of Zika infection have been reported in U.S. states, including 91 cases in New Jersey. The CDC also reports that active mosquito-borne transmission has occurred in two areas in Miami, Florida. Although no mosquito transmissions have been documented north of Miami as of August 2016, Aedes mosquitoes that could transmit the virus are common in much of the U.S., including in New Jersey. There is no vaccine available to prevent against Zika virus infection, and the best defense against the virus is mosquito control, avoiding mosquito bites, and contraception for women of childbearing age who do not wish to become pregnant.
In June 2016, the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued guidance to states on how they can use Medicaid services to prevent, detect, and respond to Zika virus, including coverage of medically prescribed insect repellents, family planning services and supplies, and diagnostic services and treatment.
Under the bill, covered Medicaid benefits would include, but need not be limited to: medically prescribed mosquito repellents; family planning services including family planning counseling, barrier contraceptives, oral contraceptives, and long-acting reversible contraceptive devices and implants and their insertion and removal; diagnostic services including computer-aided tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasounds, blood tests, urine tests, and genetic counseling; targeted case management services for children born with disabilities related to the Zika virus; and physical therapy and other rehabilitative therapies for individuals recovering from Zika related disabilities, including Guillain-Barre syndrome.
To obtain the federal approval, the Commissioner of Human Services is to apply for such State plan amendments or waivers as may be necessary to implement the provisions of the bill and to secure federal financial participation for State Medicaid expenditures under the federal Medicaid program.
