AADA takes on step therapy reform, sunscreen access

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) signed step therapy reform legislation into law, effective Jan. 1, 2026. The new law places guardrails around the use of step therapy protocols by state-regulated health plans, including Medicaid.

The AADA has supported this effort since 2020 in partnership with the Dermatological Society of New Jersey, Medical Society of New Jersey, and State Access to Innovative Medicines Coalition (SAIM). The new law includes provisions of the model bill developed by the AADA and other members of SAIM. New Jersey will become the latest state to enact step therapy reform.

Additionally, New Jersey enacted legislation allowing children to possess and use sunscreen and sun-protective clothing in school without requiring documentation from a physician. The new law will create a consistent state policy that ensures children have access to FDA-approved sunscreen at school for over-the-counter use — at no cost to the state. The AADA has supported this effort during several legislative sessions through the SUNucate Coalition.

The SUNucate Coalition, which includes the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery Association, the American College of Mohs Surgery, and the American Society for Mohs Surgery, stated that New Jersey is joining “28 other states and the District of Columbia in taking this necessary and overdue step to empower students to properly protect their skin and allow them to safely enjoy the outdoors without making their parents jump through bureaucratic hoops.”

Learn more about the Academy’s state advocacy priorities.