Bill Text: NJ A6201 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Amends Fiscal Year 2026 annual appropriations act concerning language requiring achievement of cost savings for SHBP.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3)
Status: (Passed) 2026-01-20 - Approved P.L.2025, c.395. [A6201 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-A6201-Amended.html
[Second Reprint]
ASSEMBLY, No. 6201
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
INTRODUCED DECEMBER 8, 2025
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman ANTHONY S. VERRELLI
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
Senator NICHOLAS P. SCUTARI
District 22 (Somerset and Union)
Senator LINDA R. GREENSTEIN
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Amends Fiscal Year 2026 annual appropriations act to remove language requiring achievement of cost savings for SHBP.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As amended by the General Assembly on January 12, 2026.
An Act amending P.L.2025, c.74, the Fiscal Year 2026 annual appropriations act, 1[to remove] 2[concerning1] to remove2 language requiring the achievement of cost savings for the State Health Benefits Program.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
94 INTERDEPARTMENTAL ACCOUNTS
70 Government Direction, Management, and Control
74 General Government Services
9410 Employee Benefits
DIRECT STATE SERVICES
[Notwithstanding the provisions of any law or regulation to
the contrary, the appropriations for the Employee Benefits program
classification shall be subject to the following conditions: (1) in a good
faith effort to agree on proposals to save a total of $100 million in State
funds during the first six months of Plan Year (PY) 2026, the State and public
employees' representatives on the State Health Benefits Plan Design Committee
(SHBPDC) shall separately submit cost savings proposals to the plan actuary by
July 31, 2025 and the plan actuary shall review the proposals to determine
whether the plan design proposals will result in recurring and actuarially
verifiable cost savings, noting whether they will be achieved in the first six
months of PY 2026 in the amount of $100 million. Any proposal that the
plan actuary determines will not result in recurring and actuarially verifiable
cost savings, or less cost savings than proposed, in the first six months of PY
2026 shall be adjusted to reflect actuarially verified cost savings or
eliminated from further consideration if no savings are actuarially
verified. The SHBPDC shall then meet and vote on each of the verified
proposals before September 30, 2025; (2) if the plan actuary determines that
the cost savings proposals submitted by the labor and administration
representatives will not result in recurring and verifiable total savings of at
least $100 million during the first six months of PY 2026, the labor and
administration representatives on the SHBPDC shall submit additional proposals
to the plan actuary in an effort to achieve the $100 million savings target
before September 30, 2025; (3) if the SHBPDC is unable to reach agreement on
the actuarially verified proposals totaling $100 million in cost savings before
September 30, 2025, the SHBPDC shall immediately commence the existing
statutorily prescribed mediation and conciliation procedure set forth in
P.L.2011, c.78, and that process shall be concluded by October 31, 2025; (4) if
the SHBPDC is unable to reach agreement on cost savings proposals totaling $100
million in actuarially verified savings following the existing statutorily
prescribed mediation and conciliation procedure set forth in P.L.2011, c.78,
the Legislature shall revise the statutory framework set forth in P.L.2011,
c.78 to determine a process by which $100 million in actuarially verifiable
cost savings shall be achieved for PY 2026 before December 1, 2025; (5) if the
Legislature does not pass a bill revising the statutory framework before December
1, 2025, then a representative of the State selected by the Governor and a
public employees' representative selected by the State employees' and local
employees' representatives on the SHBPDC shall jointly select cost-saving
changes to achieve $100 million in actuarially verifiable cost savings.
In the event that the State representative and the public employees'
representative are unable to reach agreement, then the Executive Director of
the Office of Legislative Services shall designate an additional representative
and the three representatives shall meet and vote to select cost-saving changes
to achieve $100 million in actuarially verifiable cost savings for the first
six months of PY 2026 before December 15, 2025.] 2[1Notwithstanding the provisions of any
law or regulation to the contrary, any cost savings proposals submitted by the
State Health Benefits Plan Design Committee (SHBPDC) that the plan actuary
determines will not result in recurring and actuarially verifiable cost
savings, or less cost savings than proposed, shall be adjusted to reflect
actuarially verified cost savings, or eliminated from further consideration if
no savings are actuarially verified or if the proposal would increase the total
cost of the plans. The State shall assume and reimburse all necessary and
verifiable costs incurred by a carrier for the development, implementation,
administration, or compliance requirements associated with any cost savings
proposals approved by the SHBPDC. A carrier shall submit documentation of the
projected and actual costs incurred to the Division of Pensions and Benefits in
the Department of the Treasury, or such other State agency as may be
designated, in a manner and form prescribed by the division.1]2
GRANTS-IN-AID
[Notwithstanding the provisions of any law or regulation to the contrary, the appropriations for the Employee Benefits program classification shall be subject to the following conditions: (1) in a good faith effort to agree on proposals to save a total of $100 million in State funds during the first six months of Plan Year (PY) 2026, the State and public employees' representatives on the State Health Benefits Plan Design Committee (SHBPDC) shall separately submit cost savings proposals to the plan actuary by July 31, 2025 and the plan actuary shall review the proposals to determine whether the plan design proposals will result in recurring and actuarially verifiable cost savings, noting whether they will be achieved in the first six months of PY 2026 in the amount of $100 million. Any proposal that the plan actuary determines will not result in recurring and actuarially verifiable cost savings, or less cost savings than proposed, in the first six months of PY 2026 shall be adjusted to reflect actuarially verified cost savings or eliminated from further consideration if no savings are actuarially verified. The SHBPDC shall then meet and vote on each of the verified proposals before September 30, 2025; (2) if the plan actuary determines that the cost savings proposals submitted by the labor and administration representatives will not result in recurring and verifiable total savings of at least $100 million during the first six months of PY 2026, the labor and administration representatives on the SHBPDC shall submit additional proposals to the plan actuary in an effort to achieve the $100 million savings target before September 30, 2025; (3) if the SHBPDC is unable to reach agreement on the actuarially verified proposals totaling $100 million in cost savings before September 30, 2025, the SHBPDC shall immediately commence the existing statutorily prescribed mediation and conciliation procedure set forth in P.L.2011, c.78, and that process shall be concluded by October 31, 2025; (4) if the SHBPDC is unable to reach agreement on cost savings proposals totaling $100 million in actuarially verified savings following the existing statutorily prescribed mediation and conciliation procedure set forth in P.L.2011, c.78, the Legislature shall revise the statutory framework set forth in P.L.2011, c.78 to determine a process by which $100 million in actuarially verifiable cost savings shall be achieved for PY 2026 before December 1, 2025; (5) if the Legislature does not pass a bill revising the statutory framework before December 1, 2025, then a representative of the State selected by the Governor and a public employees' representative selected by the State employees' and local employees' representatives on the SHBPDC shall jointly select cost-saving changes to achieve $100 million in actuarially verifiable cost savings. In the event that the State representative and the public employees' representative are unable to reach agreement, then the Executive Director of the Office of Legislative Services shall designate an additional representative and the three representatives shall meet and vote to select cost-saving changes to achieve $100 million in actuarially verifiable cost savings for the first six months of PY 2026 before December 15, 2025.] 2[1Notwithstanding the provisions of any law or regulation to the contrary, any cost savings proposals submitted by the State Health Benefits Plan Design Committee (SHBPDC) that the plan actuary determines will not result in recurring and actuarially verifiable cost savings, or less cost savings than proposed, shall be adjusted to reflect actuarially verified cost savings, or eliminated from further consideration if no savings are actuarially verified or if the proposal would increase the total cost of the plans. The State shall assume and reimburse all necessary and verifiable costs incurred by a carrier for the development, implementation, administration, or compliance requirements associated with any cost savings proposals approved by the SHBPDC. A carrier shall submit documentation of the projected and actual costs incurred to the Division of Pensions and Benefits in the Department of the Treasury, or such other State agency as may be designated, in a manner and form prescribed by the division.1]2
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
