Bill Text: NJ S2476 | 2016-2017 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Provides Medicaid coverage for services to treat and prevent Zika virus infection and associated health outcomes.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-09-08 - Referred to Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee [S2476 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2016-S2476-Amended.html
[First Reprint]
SENATE, No. 2476
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
217th LEGISLATURE
INTRODUCED JULY 29, 2016
Sponsored by:
Senator JOSEPH F. VITALE
District 19 (Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Provides Medicaid coverage for services to treat and prevent Zika virus infection and associated health outcomes.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As reported by the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee on September 8, 2016, with amendments.
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[1. The Legislature finds and declares that:
a. The Zika virus is an infectious disease most often transmitted through the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito, and which can also be transmitted by men to their sexual partners.
b. 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.
c. Outbreaks of the Zika virus have been reported in Africa, the South Pacific, and since 2015 in South and Central America.
d. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported that, as of July 2016, 1,132 travel-associated cases of Zika infection have been reported in U.S. states, including 50 cases in New Jersey.
e. Although no mosquito transmissions have been documented in the continental U.S. as of July 2016, Aedes mosquitoes that could transmit the virus are common in much of the U.S., including in New Jersey.
f. 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.
g. 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.]1
1[2.] 1.1 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.
1[3.] 2.1 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.
1[4.] 3.1 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.
1[5.] 4.1 This act shall take effect immediately.
