Transparency in Treating Addiction, Protecting Children

By Margie Donlon and Luanne Peterpaul

Assemblywomen Luanne Peterpaul and Margie Donlon

Several of our bills are moving through State Assembly committees as the new legislative session gets into full swing.

One of the bills addresses the need for transparency in who operates facilities that treat substance and alcohol use disorders. Another bill creates a separate crime of sexual exploitation and abuse of children, The Assembly Oversight, Reform and Federal Relations Committee has moved our legislation, revising licensure requirements for residential substance use disorders treatment facilities. This bill helps to ensure patients get help and not substandard treatment that only contributes to their substance use problems.

The bill, A782, which has been referred to the Assembly Health Infrastructure Committee, calls for the Department of Health to require an applicant for a license to operate as a residential substance use treatment facility to submit an independent financial audit. This legislation requires the Department of Health to deny an application if the audit reveals improper or questionable business practices or financial activities. It would also require applicants to complete a criminal history record background check and submit to being fingerprinted.

Another of our priority bills, A2268,  that would further ensure transparency in substance or alcohol use disorder treatment calls for the state to access these facilities for conflicts of interest prior to receiving state funds, licensure, or certification. We want to make sure that these service providers are giving the best available treatment, and are not motivated by financial gain from personal relationships that could impede their ability to ethically deliver treatment. The Assembly Oversight, Reform and Federal Relations Committee has approved and referred this legislation to the Assembly Health Infrastructure Committee.

We also have introduced legislation, A2326, to establish the Health Equity Access and Leadership Fund  (HEALF). This fund will help support individuals who otherwise could not afford or receive the medical treatment they need. It will be funded with public and private funds. The public funding will be from the state General Fund and a portion of Health Care Subsidy Fund revenues. It is worth noting that the Health Care Subsidy Fund receives its revenues from several state taxes, including the cigarette tax and the HMO Premiums Assessment.

The Commissioner of Health would use the Health Care Subsidy Fund to distribute competitive grants to community-based organizations and service providers that treat underserved or underinsured patients. Many of these patients have lost or are experiencing reduced access to health care due to a substantial loss of state or federal funds. The grants would be distributed to applicants who have not received any revenue from a federal funding source in the 12 months prior to their application. We anticipate the Assembly Health Infrastructure Committee will take up the discussion of our bill soon.

The Assembly Science, Innovation and Technology Committee passed another of our bills,  A2312, last week. This bill would identify the depiction of sexual exploitation or abuse of children through computer-generated or manipulated sexually explicit images as a separate crime.

The legislation would make child sexual abuse and exploitation material its own law, separate from its current placement within the child endangerment law. We believe that making it a separate and distinct crime will provide clarity for law enforcement, court documents, and the analysis and tracking of crime statistics.

We welcome your ideas as we continue to work for better access to health care for all residents and to protect children from exploitation and abuse. You can always reach us at AswDonlon@njleg.org, AswPeterpaul@njleg.org, or (732) 704-3808.