SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE

 

STATEMENT TO

 

SENATE, No. 1840

 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

 

DATED: DECEMBER 11, 1997

 

      The Senate Health Committee reports favorably Senate Bill No. 1840.

      This bill provides that basic health benefits plans and managed care health benefits plans issued to individuals pursuant to the "Individual Health Insurance Reform Act," P.L.1992, c.161 (C.17B:27A-2 et seq.), shall include coverage for the home treatment of hemophilia.

      Under that law, all health insurers must offer individual health benefits coverage on an open enrollment basis, but certain coverages otherwise mandated by law are omitted from the most basic types of policies which must be offered, sometimes referred to as "bare bones" policies. In policies covering expenses incurred for routine bleeding episodes associated with hemophilia, coverage for the purchase of blood products and blood infusion equipment required for the home treatment of hemophilia has been required coverage since 1987. This bill, then, would remove the reference to coverage for the home treatment of hemophilia otherwise required of health insurers from the list of mandates omitted by section 4 of the new law (C.17B:27A-5).