New Jersey Press Releases
This week, New Jersey lawmakers approved legislation to improve access to biomarker testing with a unanimous vote by the Assembly Appropriations Committee. Assembly Bill 4163 now awaits a vote on the Assembly floor. The Senate advanced identical legislation (Senate Bill 3098) in the Senate Commerce Committee last week, which now awaits further consideration by the Senate Budget & Appropriations Committee. Advocates with the New Jersey Biomarker Testing Coalition are hopeful that the bills will receive the necessary support to secure swift passage in the new year.
Earlier today, Senate Bill 3098 was unanimously voted out of the Senate Commerce Committee. This legislation, which aims to ensure that biomarker testing is covered by Medicaid and all other state-regulated insurance plans when patients need it, now advances to the Senate Budget & Appropriations Committee for further consideration. In October, the Assembly Financial Institutions & Insurance Committee approved identical legislation (Assembly Bill 4163), which now awaits a hearing in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
Key public health, patient and provider groups have come out in support of improving access to biomarker testing in New Jersey, urging lawmakers to advance and pass Assembly Bill 4163 / Senate Bill 3098 this legislative session. This fall, a broad coalition of over 30 organizations, medical leaders and patient advocates wrote to members of the Assembly Financial Institutions & Insurance (AFI) Committee to vote in favor of A4163, which they did—unanimously—several weeks ago. Now, the New Jersey Biomarker Coalition is looking to the Assembly Appropriations and Senate Commerce Committees to take up this bill and follow the lead of their AFI member colleagues.
Today, the Assembly Financial Institutions & Insurance Committee voted to improve New Jerseyans’ access to biomarker testing, advancing Assembly Bill 4163 out of committee. Championed by Assemblymembers Shavonda Sumter, Gary Schaer and Shama Haider, the proposal would ensure biomarker testing is covered by New Jersey-regulated insurance plans, including Medicaid, when medical and scientific evidence shows it would provide a benefit to patients. Advocates now look to the full Assembly to favorably advance Assembly Bill 4163 to the Senate.
This afternoon, Governor Murphy signed the Louisa Carmen Medical Debt Relief Act (A3861) into law, securing a major victory for patients and families across New Jersey.
Earlier today, the New Jersey State Assembly Financial Institutions & Insurance Committee voted to move the Louisa Carmen Medical Debt Relief Act forward. A3861, sponsored by Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson, Assemblyman Wayne DeAngelo, Assemblyman Anthony Verrelli and Assemblyman Herb Conaway, will now head to the Assembly floor for further consideration.
The following is a statement from Dr. Karen E. Knudsen, CEO of the American Cancer Society (ACS) and the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), on the passing of U.S. Representative Donald M. Payne Jr. (D-N.J.).
Last week, legislation that seeks to improve New Jerseyans’ access to biomarker testing was introduced in the Legislature. Biomarker testing helps connect cancer patients to the right treatment at the right time, often resulting in improved outcomes and quality of life. In some cases, biomarker testing may provide information that enables patients to forgo ineffective treatments and eliminate the potentially harmful, life-altering side effects of those treatments, which could also result in reduced health care costs.
January 15, 2024, marked 18 years since the New Jersey Smoke-free Air Act was signed into law. My family and I are proud New Jerseyans and direct beneficiaries of this groundbreaking legislation. I distinctly remember the difference it made in everyday life; clearing the haze from restaurants, commuter trains and businesses made it safer for workers and patrons alike. It is hard for me to imagine returning to a restaurant and sitting through a meal with plumes over my plate, ashtrays at every table or returning to a workplace where smoking is permitted and condoned.
