Bill > A578

Introduced Session

This bill establishes, in the Department of Health, the New Jersey Commission on Health Equity. The purpose of the commission will be to: 1) employ a health equity framework to examine: the health of New Jersey residents; ways for units of State and local government to collaborate to implement policies that will positively impact the health of New Jersey residents; and the impact of certain enumerated factors on the health of New Jersey residents; 2) provide direct advice to the DOH regarding issues of racial, ethnic, cultural, or socioeconomic health disparities; 3) facilitate coordination of the expertise and experience of various State departments in developing a comprehensive health equity plan addressing the social determinants of health; and 4) set goals for health equity and prepare a plan for the State to achieve health equity in alignment with any other Statewide planning activities. The commission, using a health equity framework, will be required to: 1) examine and make recommendations regarding: health considerations that may be incorporated into the decision-making processes of government agencies and private sector stakeholders who interact with government agencies; requirements for implicit bias training for clinicians engaged in patient care and whether the State should provide the training; training for health care providers on consistent and proper collection of self-identified patient data on race, ethnicity, and language to identify disparities accurately; and requirements to comply with, and for enforcement of, National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services in Health and Health Care (CLAS Standards); 2) foster collaboration between units of State and local government and develop policies to improve health and reduce health inequities; 3) identify measures for monitoring and advancing health equity in the State; 4) establish a State plan for achieving health equity in alignment with other Statewide planning activities in coordination with the State's health, human services, housing, transportation, education, environment, community development, and labor systems; and 5) make recommendations and provide advice, including direct advice to the Commissioner of Health, on implementing laws and policies to improve health and reduce health inequities. The commission will be authorized to establish advisory committees to assist the commission in the performance of its duties. Any such advisory committee may include individuals who are not members of the commission. The commission will comprise 27 members, including: 1) one member of the Senate appointed by the President of the Senate and one member of the General Assembly appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly, each of whom will serve for the duration of the legislative term in which they are appointed; 2) the heads of the Department of Health (DOH), the Department of Human Services (DHS), the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Community Affairs, the Department of Banking and Insurance, the Department of Children and Families, the Department of Corrections, the Department of Education, the Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, the Department of Law and Public Safety, the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, the Department of State, the Department of Transportation, Public Health Services in DOH, the Division of Aging Services in DHS, the Division of Disability Services in DHS, the Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services in DHS, the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services in DHS, the New Jersey Office of Information Technology, the Division of Child Protection and Permanency in the Department of Children and Families, the New Jersey State Planning Commission, the State Police, and the Office of Management and Budget in the Department of the Treasury, or their designees, who will serve ex officio; and 3) one representative of a local health department, designated by the New Jersey Association of County and City Health Officials, who will serve for a term of four years and will be eligible for reappointment to the commission. The Governor will designate a chair and a vice-chair of the commission from among the membership. The chair will appoint a secretary, who need not be a member of the commission. The commission will be required to meet at least four times each year at a location to be determined by the chair, but may meet at such additional times and places as by the commission determines to be necessary. A majority of the authorized membership will constitute a quorum for the purpose of undertaking official business. The members of the commission will serve without compensation, but may be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of their duties, within the limits of funds made available to the commission for this purpose. The DOH will provide stenographic, clerical, and other administrative assistants, as well as any professional staff, as the commission requires to carry out its work. The commission will be entitled to call to its assistance and avail itself of the services of the employees of any State, county, or municipal department, board, bureau, commission, or agency as it may require and as may be available for its purposes. In coordination with the New Jersey Health Information Network (NJHIN), the commission will be required to establish a Health Equity Data Advisory Committee to make recommendations on data collection, needs, quality, reporting, evaluation, and visualization for the commission to carry out the purposes of the bill. The advisory committee is to include representatives from the NJHIN. Specifically, the advisory committee will define the parameters of a health equity data set to be maintained by the NJHIN, including indicators for: social and economic conditions; environmental conditions; health status; behaviors; health care; and priority health outcomes for monitoring health equity for racial and ethnic minority populations in New Jersey. The data set for which these parameters are defined are to include data from: health care facilities that report to the DOH; health benefits plans that report to the Department of Banking and Insurance; and any other data source the advisory committee determines necessary. The commission may request data consistent with the recommendations of the advisory committee. Data requested by the commission is to be provided either directly to the commission or to the commission through the NJHIN. The advisory committee may recommend that data be reported or otherwise made available to the public, in which case the commission will be authorized to publish or otherwise provide the data to the public. Data provided to the commission and data reported or otherwise made available to the public is to be provided in the aggregate and in compliance with applicable State and federal privacy laws. No later than 18 months after the effective date of the bill, and annually thereafter, the commission will be required to prepare and submit a report to the Governor and the Legislature concerning the activities of the commission, including the commission's findings with regard to any changes in health equity in the State resulting from the commission's activities, and the commission's recommendations for legislation or administrative action as may be necessary to implement the commission's findings and recommendations and support the commission's activities. The bill will take effect the first day of the seventh month next following enactment.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Tennille McCoy (D)*,  Sterley Stanley (D)*,  Gabriel Rodriguez (D),  William Sampson (D), 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Health Committee (on 01/09/2024)

Official Document