ASSEMBLY APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

[First Reprint]

SENATE, No. 3159

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  DECEMBER 12, 2019

      The Assembly Appropriations Committee reports favorably Senate Bill No. 3159 (1R).

     This bill provides for an expansion of the State Medicaid program to include coverage for pasteurized donated human breast milk under certain circumstances.

      Specifically, this bill provides that coverage under the Medicaid program includes expenses incurred for the provision of pasteurized donated human breast milk, which are required to include human milk fortifiers if indicated in a medical order provided by a licensed medical practitioner, to an infant under the age of six months.  In order for the Medicaid program to cover such expenses, the milk must be obtained from a human milk bank that meets quality guidelines established by the Department of Health.  In addition, a licensed medical practitioner must have issued a medical order for the infant under at least one of the following circumstances:

      (1)  the infant is medically or physically unable to receive maternal breast milk or participate in breast feeding or the infant’s mother is medically or physically unable to produce maternal breast milk in sufficient quantities or participate in breast feeding despite optimal lactation support; or 

      (2)  the infant meets any of the following conditions: a body weight below healthy levels determined by the licensed medical practitioner issuing the medical order for the infant; a congenital or acquired condition that places the infant at a high risk for development of necrotizing enterocolitis; or a congenital or acquired condition that may benefit from the use of donor breast milk and human milk fortifiers as determined by the Department of Health.

      As reported by the committee, Senate Bill No. 3159 (1R) is identical to Assembly Bill No. 4747 (1R), which also was reported by the committee on this date.

FISCAL IMPACT:

      The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) estimates that this bill may cause the State to incur annual costs to provide pasteurized donated human breast milk to individuals who receive health care

services under the State’s Medicaid program, and to receive and expend federal Medicaid matching funds.

      The cost to provide these services cannot be quantified with any certainty as: (1) the cost for these services is unknown and (2) the number of individuals who will receive these services is unpredictable.

      Some of the expenditures may result in a decrease in medical costs associated with the care of infants; however, the OLS cannot quantify with any certainty any savings that may be attributed to the provisions of the bill.