ASSEMBLY BUDGET COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 2455

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  JUNE 18, 2018

      The Assembly Budget Committee reports favorably Senate Bill No. 2455.

      This bill transfers New Jersey county college employees and retirees from membership in the School Employees’ Health Benefits Program to membership in the State Health Benefits Program.

      The School Employees’ Health Benefits Program (“SEHBP”) offers medical and prescription drug coverage to qualified local education public employees, retirees, and eligible dependents.  Under current law, employees and retirees of county colleges and their eligible dependents are eligible to participate in the SEHBP.  This bill transfers such membership for employees and retirees of county colleges and their eligible dependents from the SEHBP to the State Health Benefits Program (“SHBP”).  The SHBP offers medical and prescription drugs coverage to qualified State and local government public employees, retirees, and eligible dependents. 

      As reported, this bill is identical to Assembly Bill No. 2001, as reported by the committee.

FISCAL IMPACT:

      The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) estimates that the enactment of this bill would result in a reduction in expenditures for providing health care benefits to employees and retirees of county colleges.  The savings will be realized by county colleges with regard to active employees and by the State with regard to the retirees of county colleges.  Under current law and continuing under this bill, the State is responsible for the post-retirement health care costs of the retirees of county colleges.

      The OLS cannot estimate the savings to be realized from the enactment of this bill because information on the number of employees and retirees and the current and future plans in which those employees and retirees participate are not known.  While information from a particular county college may be available, due to the variation in the number of plans offered by the State Health Benefits Program (SHBP) and the School Employees Health Benefits Program (SEHBP), the plan design changes that have been implemented for the SHBP but not the SEHBP, and the variation in the types of coverage (single, family, parent/child, couple) offered to employees and retirees, extrapolating the information from one county college to other county colleges would not represent the aggregate costs and savings accurately.