Senate Commerce Committee Statement to Senate, No. 3413 — State of New Jersey (January 26, 2023)

Summary

A Senate Commerce Committee statement to the Senate on Senate Bill No. 3413, State of New Jersey, dated January 26, 2023, reporting the bill favorably with committee amendments. As amended, the bill requires a service provider doing business in the State to let a service recipient terminate the service contract, as provided in the bill, without an early termination fee, on no less than 45 days' notice. If a physician's order requires immediate relocation to a long-term care facility, the notice requirement is waived and the contract may be terminated within 48 hours. Providers must supply a standard termination form, representatives must submit power of attorney, conservatorship or guardianship documents, and recipients still owe equipment returns; the bill is identical to Assembly Bill No. 1884 (1R).

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Full text

SENATE COMMERCE COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No.
3413

with
committee amendments

STATE
OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: JANUARY
26, 2023

The Senate Commerce Committee reports favorably Senate
Bill No. 3413 with committee amendments.

As amended, the bill requires a service provider doing
business in this State to allow a service recipient to terminate the service
contract, as provided in the bill, without incurring an early termination fee.
Unless otherwise waived by the service provider, the bill requires a service
recipient to provide the service provider with no less than 45 days’ notice
prior to the contract termination or cancellation. However, if a physician’s
order requires immediate relocation to a long-term care facility, this notice
requirement would be waived, and the contract may be terminated within 48
hours. The service provider is to provide a standard termination to the
service recipient upon request, which the service recipient and a physician are
to utilize when requesting contract termination or cancellation from the
service provider. If a service recipient is unable to submit the standard
termination form and a representative of the recipient is requesting contract termination
or cancellation, the representative is to submit to the service provider the
standard termination form and a copy of the power of attorney, conservatorship,
or guardianship documents verifying the representative’s authority.

The bill also allows a service provider to require
written proof of a service recipient’s relocation to a long-term facility. In
this event, the bill provides that the delivery of a written notice to the
service provider of the contract termination and a letter signed by the service
recipient’s physician, no later than 45 days prior to the scheduled date of
termination, would be deemed to constitute sufficient proof.

The bill further provides that nothing in the bill is
to relieve a service recipient of an obligation to return equipment to the
service provider or to be charged a lawful unreturned equipment charge, nor is
a service recipient relieved from any amounts owed for any equipment purchased
by the service recipient.

As amended and reported, this bill is identical to
Assembly Bill No. 1884 (1R).

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

The committee amended the bill to provide that:

(1) a service provider is to provide a standard
termination form to the service recipient upon request, which the service
recipient and a physician are to utilize when requesting contract termination
or cancellation from the service provider; and

(2) when the service recipient is unable to submit
the standard termination form and a representative of the service recipient is
requesting contract termination or cancellation pursuant to the provisions of
the bill, the representative is to submit to the service provider the standard
termination form and a copy of the power of attorney, conservatorship, or
guardianship documents verifying the representative’s authority to act on
behalf of the service recipient.

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