Social Impact

• the extent to which the proposed mandated health benefit and the services it would provide are needed by, available to and utilized by the population of New Jersey;
• the extent to which insurance coverage for the proposed mandated health benefit already exists or, if no coverage exists, the extent to which the lack of coverage results in inadequate health care or financial hardship for the affected population of New Jersey;
• the demand for the proposed mandated health benefit from the public and the source and extent of opposition to mandating the health benefit;
• relevant findings bearing on the social impact of the lack of the proposed mandated health benefit; and such other information with respect to the social impact as the Commission deems appropriate.

• the extent to which the proposed mandated health benefit would increase or decrease the cost for treatment or service;
• the extent to which similar mandated health benefits in other states have affected charges, costs and payments for services;
• the extent to which the proposed mandated health benefit would increase the appropriate use of the treatment or service;
• the impact of the proposed mandated health benefit on total costs to carriers and on administrative costs;
• the impact of the proposed mandated health benefit on total costs to purchasers and benefit costs;
• the impact of the proposed mandated health benefit on the total cost of health care within New Jersey; and such other information with respect to the financial impact as the Commission deems appropriate.

• if the proposed health benefit mandates coverage of a particular treatment or therapy, the recommendation of a clinical study or review article in a major peer-reviewed professional journal;
• if the proposed health benefit mandates coverage of the services provided by an additional class of practitioners, the results of at least one professionally accepted, controlled trial comparing the medical results achieved by the additional class of practitioners and the practitioners already covered by benefits;
• the results of other research;
• the impact of the proposed benefit on the general availability of health benefits coverage in New Jersey; and such other information with respect to the medical efficacy as the Commission deems appropriate.

• the extent to which the need for coverage outweighs the costs of mandating the health benefit; and the extent to which the problem of coverage may be solved by mandating the availability of the coverage as an option under a health benefits plan.

• a State data collection system;
• the Departments of Health and Banking and Insurance;
• health planning organizations;
• proponents and opponents of the proposed health benefit mandate, who shall be encouraged to provide appropriate documentation supporting their positions.

The Commission shall examine such documentation to determine whether:

• the documentation is complete;
• the assumptions upon which the research is based are valid;
• the research cited in the documentation meets professional standards;
• all relevant research respecting the proposed benefit has been cited in the documentation;
• the conclusions and interpretations in the documentation are consistent with the data submitted; and such other data sources as the Commission deems appropriate. In analyzing information from the various sources, the Commission shall give substantial weight to the documentation provided by the proponents and opponents of the mandate to the extent that such documentation is made available to them.