New jersey law seeks to cap fees on insulin, asthma inhalers

TRENTON, NJ – The Assembly Budget Committee has given a favorable report with committee amendments to Senate Bill No. 1614 (1R). The bill aims to establish a flat cap on out-of-pocket contributions for individuals who require certain prescription medications, including insulin, epinephrine auto-injectors, and prescription asthma inhalers. The coverage standards outlined in the bill apply to various insurance providers and health benefits plans.

Under the amended bill, individuals prescribed short-acting, intermediate-acting, rapid-acting, long-acting, or pre-mixed insulin products, epinephrine auto-injector devices, or prescription asthma inhalers would have a limit on their out-of-pocket expenses. These items would not be subject to deductibles, and copayments or coinsurance would be capped at specific amounts. For a 30-day supply of insulin, the copayment or coinsurance would be limited to $35. Epinephrine auto-injector devices would have a copayment or coinsurance cap of $25 per 30-day supply, while prescription asthma inhalers would be limited to $50 per 30-day supply.

These coverage standards will apply to individual or group hospital service corporations, medical service corporations, and health service corporations, as well as individual and group health insurance policies and health maintenance organizations. The bill also extends these standards to individual and small employer health benefits plans. Additionally, the State Health Benefits Commission and the School Employee’s Health Benefits Commission will be required to ensure that their contracts comply with the coverage standards.

The committee’s report states that Senate Bill No. 1614 (1R) is identical to Assembly Bill No. 2839 (1R), which has also been amended and reported favorably by the committee.

Phil Stilton Latest posts

Phil Stilton is the Editor and Publisher of Shore News Network, an independent digital newsroom providing original reporting on New Jersey, national news, government, public policy, public safety, courts, and community affairs.

As founder of the publication, Stilton leads editorial strategy, investigative reporting, and daily newsroom operations while overseeing coverage that reaches millions of readers annually.

With extensive experience covering municipal government, county government, state legislatures, elections, law enforcement, emergency management, and public records, Stilton specializes in translating complex government actions into clear, factual reporting. His work frequently relies on primary source documents, including court filings, legislation, public meeting records, election finance disclosures, government databases, police reports, and Freedom of Information and Open Public Records Act (OPRA) requests. He has reported extensively on local government accountability, taxpayer spending, campaign finance, public corruption investigations, infrastructure, public safety, and the policies affecting New Jersey residents.

Under Stilton's editorial leadership, Shore News Network has grown into one of New Jersey's largest independent digital news organizations, publishing thousands of original news articles each year while providing breaking news coverage, investigative reporting, and analysis across state and local government. The publication's reporting is routinely sourced from official government agencies, public officials, court records, and firsthand documentation, with a commitment to transparency, attribution, corrections when warranted, and clearly distinguishing factual reporting from opinion.

Stilton's journalism follows established newsroom standards emphasizing accuracy, verification, fairness, and accountability. Every effort is made to verify information through official records and multiple reliable sources before publication. His reporting is intended to provide readers with timely, well-documented information that helps them understand the issues affecting their communities, while maintaining editorial independence from political parties, government agencies, advocacy organizations, and commercial interests.

Readers can submit story tips, corrections, public records, or media inquiries through the official Shore News Network website or its verified social media channels. Shore News Network welcomes corrections and updates when new information becomes available as part of its ongoing commitment to accurate and transparent journalism.