Helping NJ Residents Get The Medical Care They Need

With most Jersey hospitals continuing to face economic difficulties - and more and more of them being forced to actually close down - an Assembly Committee has released a measure that’s designed to ensure that Garden state communities still have the health care coverage they need.

Legislation sponsored by Assemblyman Jerry Green would target facilities that were general hospitals but that have been granted a certificate of need to cease operation as a general hospital - and would grant corporation business tax credits to developers who make certain capital investments for repurposing qualified health care facilities.

The measure would allow the developer of a repurposed qualified health care facility to qualify for corporation business tax credits equal to 100 percent of the capital investment, if that capital investment is at least 10  million dollars, and is applied towards repurposing a facility that will have tenants with a total of 100 or more full-time employees.

Assemblyman Green says “shifts in population, economic pressures and scientific advancement often lead to the construction of new hospital facilities and the closing of older hospitals, this is unfortunate for the communities that house these once productive hospitals because they often contribute greatly to local employment and tax revenue.  If we can help transform these former hospitals into centers for the delivery of other health care services and health support services then we can achieve a win-win for our communities.”

The bill has been approved by the Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee, and now awaits consideration by the full Assembly.