Bill > S4046

Introduced Session

This bill establishes the New Jersey Community Health Worker Program in the Department of Health. Community health workers are certified professionals who connect health care consumers with health care providers and resources, with the goal of facilitating access to health care in medically underserved communities and educating health care providers about the unique obstacles faced by members of that community when seeking access to health care. The purpose of the New Jersey Community Health Worker Program will be to establish standardized community health worker training and certification programs within institutions of higher education, and integrate community health worker services into State Medicaid reimbursement programs for the purposes of improving health outcomes, reducing health care costs, and reducing inequities in the availability and provision of health care services. The Commissioner of Health will be required to appoint a director for the program, who will be responsible for overseeing and administering all aspects of the program in consultation with the New Jersey Community Health Worker Program Advisory Board, which will also be established under the bill. The bill requires the program to be established and implemented in Newark within one year following enactment, and thereafter expanded to such additional municipalities as the director determines necessary and appropriate in light of available resources and the need for the program in a given region, county, or municipality. The director will be required to seek to implement the program Statewide within five years after the date of enactment. The director will be authorized to accept funding as may be made available from the federal government, the State, and the private sector to implement the program. The director will be required to report annually to the Legislature on the implementation of the program, including recommendations for such legislative action as may be appropriate and necessary to facilitate the establishment, implementation, expansion, and improvement of the program. The bill additionally establishes the New Jersey Community Health Worker Program Advisory Board to assist the director to develop training and certification programs, identify medically underserved communities and the unique challenges facing those communities in obtaining access to health care, and develop strategies for effectively implementing the program Statewide. The board will comprise nine members, including the Commissioners of Health and of Human Services, or their designees, who will serve ex officio, and seven public members, of which three will be appointed by the Governor, and one each will be appointed by the Senate President, the Senate Minority Leader, the Speaker of the General Assembly, and the Assembly Minority Leader. The public members will include three representatives from community health centers, with one each from the southern, central, and northern regions of the State; one representative from a general hospital; one representative from a long-term care facility; one representative from a two-year institution of higher education; and one representative from a four-year institution of higher education. The bill requires the director to develop a standardized health curriculum for training community health workers in the provision of education and supports services related to substance use disorder treatment. The director may, in developing the curriculum, utilize information or resources developed by another state, a professional association with expertise in substance use disorder treatment, or an agency of the federal government. The director will promote and share the curriculum as best practices for community health workers in the State.

Committee Categories

Linda Greenstein (D)*, 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee (on 01/14/2025)

Official Document