Pandemic Darlings The pandemic economy, in original documents
Home Source documents Senate Commerce Committee Statement to Senate, No. 3733 (June 16, 2021)

Senate Commerce Committee Statement to Senate, No. 3733 (June 16, 2021)

Summary

Senate Commerce Committee statement to Senate, No. 3733 of the State of New Jersey, dated June 16, 2021, reporting Senate Bill No. 3733 favorably and with committee amendments. As amended, the bill requires health insurance carriers to offer a clear cost share plan for individual health benefits plans, with standardized benefits and cost-sharing developed by the commissioner of the Department of Banking and Insurance. The commissioner is to develop at least one plan for each tier designated as bronze, silver and gold, and a 60-day public comment period is permitted as part of an annual evaluation. The committee amendments remove the requirement to consult the advisory committee and the annual report to the Governor and Legislature.

Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used

Cite this document

“Senate Commerce Committee Statement to Senate, No. 3733 (June 16, 2021).” Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/2021-06-16-scm-s3733-s1-1eccddb229/, SHA-256 affc6681e92cbf560116f0623d260000c134182c6fc199b0be336521c0c46350.

Full text

     SENATE COMMERCE COMMITTEE

                    STATEMENT TO

                  SENATE, No. 3733

 STATE OF NEW JERSEY
                      DATED: JUNE 16, 2021

    The Senate Commerce Committee reports favorably and with
committee amendments Senate Bill No. 3733.
   As amended, this bill requires health insurance carriers to offer a
clear cost share plan for individual health benefits plans.
   A clear cost share plan is a plan design that includes a set of
annual copayments, coinsurance, and deductibles for all or a
designated subset of benefits within a health benefits plan. Under
this bill, the commissioner of the Department of Banking and
Insurance, in consultation with the board of directors of the
Individual Health Coverage Program, will be required to develop a
clear cost share plan for individual health benefits plans that
provide for standardized benefits and cost-sharing for covered
health services. When creating the share plan, the commissioner is
to take into consideration the following:
   (1) the ability of a health plan to conform to actuarial value
ranges;
   (2) focusing consumer choice to make the process of selecting a
health plan more transparent and quality-based;
   (3) limiting out-of-pocket costs that serve as a financial barrier
to accessing high-value care; and
   (4) fostering quality improvement through the promotion of
benefits with a high value and a focus on the consumer.
   The commissioner will also be required to develop at least one
clear cost share plan for each tier of a health insurance plan
designated as bronze, silver, and gold in accordance with the federal
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. A carrier is to make
available any clear cost share plan developed pursuant to the bill
from each metal tier in order to participate in the individual market.
   Once created, the commissioner will evaluate annually whether
to revise, discontinue, or add any clear cost share plan for use by a
carrier, which includes, but is not limited to, considering whether a
deductible or copayment level should be changed to reflect medical
inflation and actuarial values. A 60-day public comment period will
be permitted as part of the evaluation process.
   Additionally, a carrier will be able to offer up to three health
benefits plans that modify one or more parameters in a clear cost
share plan created by the commissioner if the carrier submits, and
the commissioner approves, an actuarial certification stating that the
                                 2

alternative share plan offers significant consumer benefits and will
not result in an adverse selection for the consumer. The
commissioner will also ensure that the exchange’s website
prioritizes unmodified clear cost share plans and that a comparison
be available to display the similarities and differences in coverage
between modified and unmodified clear cost share plans. Finally,
the commissioner will require that plans offered on the exchange
conform with standardized plan designs that provide for
standardized cost-sharing for covered health services.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:
    The committee amended the bill to:
    (1) remove language requiring the commissioner to consult with
the advisory committee on the development and evaluation of clear
cost share plans;
    (2) clarify that the cost share plans may also modify current
benefits;
    (3) confirm that a carrier is to make available any clear cost share
plan developed pursuant to the bill in order to participate in the
individual market rather than being required to offer at least one such
plan; and
    (4) remove language requiring an annual report be submitted by
the commissioner to the Governor and Legislature on the enrollment of
consumers in cost share plans compared to other health plans.

File and source

File
2021-06-16_SCM_S3733_S1.pdf
Size
117,833 bytes
SHA-256
affc6681e92cbf560116f0623d260000c134182c6fc199b0be336521c0c46350
Our copy
2021-06-16_SCM_S3733_S1.pdf
Original
No public link identified.
Back to top