a. Establish in conjunction with the Special Child Health Services program established pursuant to P.L.1948, c.444 (C. 26:1A-2 et seq.) a program for the purposes of this act, administer the fund and authorize the payment or reimbursement of the medical expenses of children with catastrophic illnesses;

b. Establish procedures for application to the program, determining the eligibility for the payment or reimbursement of medical expenses for each child, and processing fund awards and appeals. The commission shall also establish procedures to provide that, in the case of an illness or condition for which the family, after receiving assistance pursuant to this act, recovers damages for the child’s medical expenses pursuant to a settlement or judgment in a legal action, the family shall reimburse the fund for the amount of assistance received, or that portion thereof covered by the amount of the damages less the expense of recovery;

c. Establish the amount of reimbursement for the medical expenses of each child using a sliding fee scale based on a family’s ability to pay for medical expenses which takes into account family size, family income and assets and family medical expenses and adjust the financial eligibility criteria established pursuant to subsection a. of section 2 of this act based upon the moneys available in the fund;

d. Disseminate information on the fund and the program to the public;

e. Adopt bylaws for the regulation of its affairs and the conduct of its business, adopt an official seal and alter the same at pleasure, maintain an office at the place within the State as it may designate, and sue and be sued in its own name;

f. Appoint, retain or employ staff, experts or consultants on a contract basis or otherwise, who are deemed necessary, and employ investigators or other professionally qualified personnel who may be in the noncompetitive division of the career service of the Civil Service, and as may be within the limits of funds appropriated or otherwise made available to it for its purposes;

g. Maintain confidential records on each child who applies for assistance under the fund;

h. Do all other acts and things necessary or convenient to carry out the purposes of this act; and

i. Adopt rules and regulations in accordance with the “Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L.1968, c.410 (C. 52:14B-1 et seq.) necessary to effectuate the purposes of this act.

L.1987,c.370,s.7; amended 1998, c.143, s.3, 2003, c.260, s.2.