A 1821 New Jersey General Assembly · 2026-2027 Regular Session

Prohibits health insurance carriers from denying coverage of nonopioid prescription drugs in favor of opioid prescription drugs.

This bill prohibits health insurance carriers from denying coverage for nonopioid pain medications in favor of opioids or requiring patients to try opioids first. It requires insurers to treat FDA-approved nonopioid drugs equally to opioids in formularies, meaning coverage restrictions, prior authorization, and cost-sharing tiers must be no more restrictive for nonopioid drugs. The law applies to state health benefit plans, school employee health programs, and Medicaid for acute pain treatment. It takes effect January 1, 2026, directly affecting insurers and patients covered by these plans.

Issues: ✓ Healthcare

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 13, 2026 Last action Jun 23, 2026

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What changed between versions

Technical Review Of Prefiled Bill → Introduced · 4 edits · Jan 13, 2026

MODERATE

Bill A1821 moved from a prefiled technical review stage to formal introduction in the Assembly. The most substantive policy change is that the effective date was accelerated by one year, from January 1, 2027 to January 1, 2026. Two co-sponsors (Quijano and Brennan) were dropped, and a standard legislative statement summarizing the bill was added. Remaining changes are formatting and encoding corrections.

TIMELINE

The effective date of the act was moved up by one year from January 1, 2027 to January 1, 2026, meaning health insurance carriers must comply with the nonopioid coverage requirements a full year earlier than previously planned.

SCOPE

Two co-sponsors (Assemblywoman Quijano and Assemblyman Brennan) were removed from the bill's sponsor list, leaving four remaining co-sponsors.

TECHNICAL

A standard legislative statement section was appended to the end of the bill summarizing its provisions for public reference.

The bill status changed from 'As reported by the Assembly Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee with technical review' to 'Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel,' reflecting its new procedural stage.

Floor votes

How they voted

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Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Jun 23, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported out of Assembly Committee, 2nd Reading

lower

May 14, 2026

Committee

Reported and Referred to Assembly Appropriations Committee

lower

Jan 13, 2026

Introduced

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee

lower

2 primary · 6 co-sponsors