Senate Commerce Committee Statement to Senate, No. 1796 — State of New Jersey (March 16, 2026)

Summary

A Senate Commerce Committee statement to the Senate on Senate Bill No. 1796 with committee amendments, State of New Jersey, dated March 16, 2026, reporting the bill favorably. As amended, the bill requires health, hospital and medical service corporations, health maintenance organizations and commercial group health insurers to cover an annual prostate cancer screening without cost sharing, following the latest nationally recognized clinical practice guidelines. The requirement extends to commercial individual insurers and plans under the Individual Health Coverage Program, Small Employer Health Benefits Program, State Health Benefits Program and School Employees' Health Benefits Program. It applies to high-deductible health plans to the maximum extent permissible under federal law, with stated exceptions.

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

Full text

SENATE COMMERCE COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No.
1796

with
committee amendments

STATE
OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: MARCH
16, 2026

The Senate Commerce Committee reports favorably and
with committee amendments Senate Bill No. 1796.

As
amended, the bill requires health, hospital, and medical service
corporations, health maintenance organizations, and commercial group health
insurers to provide coverage for an annual prostate cancer screening without
cost sharing in accordance with the latest nationally recognized clinical
practice guidelines. The prostate cancer screening requirements are also
extended to commercial individual health insurers, health benefits plans issued
pursuant to the New Jersey Individual Health Coverage Program, Small Employer
Health Benefits Program, the
State Health Benefits Program, and the School Employees’ Health Benefits
Program, which are not required to provide this coverage under current law .
“Nationally recognized clinical practice guidelines” is defined in the amended
bill as evidence-based clinical practice guidelines, developed by independent
organizations or medical professional societies using a transparent methodology
and reporting structure, which set standards of care informed by a systemic
review of evidence and include recommendations to optimize patient care.

The amended bill specifies that these coverage
requirements would apply to high-deductible health plans to the maximum extent
permissible under federal law, unless the plan is used to establish a medical
savings account or a health savings account under the federal Internal Revenue
Code, as well as a plan that meets the requirements of a catastrophic plan, as
defined under federal regulations.

Under current law, these health insurance carriers are
required only to provide coverage for an annual medically recognized diagnostic
examination including, but not limited to, a digital rectal examination and a
prostate-specific antigen test for men age 50 and over who are asymptomatic and
for men age 40 and over with a family history of prostate cancer or other
prostate cancer risk factors.

This bill was prefiled for introduction in the
2026-2027 session pending technical review. As reported, the bill includes the
changes required by technical review, which has been performed.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS

The committee amended the bill to:

(1) stipulate that annual prostate cancer screenings
are required pursuant to the nationally recognized clinical practice
guidelines;

(2) add a definition of national recognized clinical
practice guidelines;

(3) apply the prohibition on cost-sharing to anyone
getting the screening;

(4) apply the provisions of the bill to
high-deductible health plans to the maximum extent permitted under federal law
except under certain circumstances; and

(5) modify the effective date regarding the bill’s
application to the New Jersey Individual Health Coverage Program.

File and source

File

2026-03-16_SCM_S1796_S1.htm

Size

5,803 bytes

SHA-256

75ae57333200212a27598c1031a36a092376296fc5236b010d4af48bd152bdbb

Our copy

2026-03-16_SCM_S1796_S1.htm

Original

No public link identified.