SENATE BUDGET AND APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR

SENATE, No. 496

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: NOVEMBER 17, 1997

      The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee reports favorably the Senate Committee Substitute for Senate Bill No. 496.

      The Senate Committee Substitute for Senate Bill No. 496 provides a credit against the New Jersey gross income tax or the corporation business tax equal to 25% of the cost of providing long-term care insurance coverage to a business taxpayer's employees.

      "Long-term care insurance coverage" is defined in the bill as a group or individual insurance policy which provides benefits for a period of not less than 12 months for each person covered under the policy, on an expense incurred, indemnity, or annuity basis, or combination thereof, for necessary diagnostic, preventive, therapeutic or custodial services in a setting other than an acute care unit of a hospital. Long-term care services are not limited to traditional nursing home care, and may also include home health care, assisted living residence care, alternative family living care or other similar types of community-based care for which long-term care insurance coverage is available.

FISCAL IMPACT

      The Department of Treasury could not provide the committee with an estimate of the fiscal impact of this bill on corporation business tax or gross income tax revenues as of the date of this statement.