18A:71C-35. The Commissioner of Health and Senior Services, after consultation with the Commissioner of Corrections and the Commissioner of Human Services, shall designate and establish a ranking of State designated underserved areas. The criteria used by the Commissioner of Health and Senior Services in designating areas shall include, but not be limited to:

a. the financial resources of the population under consideration, including the percentage of the population that is eligible for medical assistance pursuant to P.L.1968, c.413 (C. 30:4D-1 et seq.) and P.L.2005, c.156 (C. 30:4J-8 et seq.), and the percentage of the population that does not have health insurance coverage;

b. the population’s access to primary care services;

c. appropriate physician, dentist, or other primary care staffing in State, county, municipal and private nonprofit health care facilities and in clinics which are part of the extramural network of dental clinics established by the New Jersey Dental School of Rutgers, The State University; and

d. the extent to which racial and ethnic disparities in health care in a geographic area, including, but not limited to, disparities in the incidence of cancer, cardiovascular disease, stroke, chemical dependency, diabetes, asthma, homicide, suicide, accidental injury, infant mortality, child immunization rates, HIV/AIDS, dental caries, and periodontal disease, indicate the need to increase access to primary care services among racial and ethnic minority populations in that area.

The Commissioner of Health and Senior Services shall transmit the list of State designated underserved areas and the number of positions needed in each area to the executive director or designee.

amended 2009, c.145, s.4; 2012, c.45, s.100.