Bill > A4585

Introduced Session

This bill requires the Department of Human Services to increase home and community-based services under Medicaid. Under the bill, the Commissioner of Human Services is required to: 1) by 2027, aim to place 80 percent Medicaid participants, who are eligible to receive nursing home care, in home and community-based services, with 60 percent of the Medicaid funding for long-term services and supports allocated to home and community-based services; 2) by 2029, aim to allocate 70 percent of the Medicaid funding for long-term services and supports to home and community-based services; 3) establish a five-year strategic plan to rapidly expand home and community-based services by investing monies from available funds in a manner that decreases the number of individuals who are institutionalized in State developmental centers; 4) take measures to reduce institutional bias in State policy, including Medicaid eligibility changes, more timely authorizations for home and community-based services, and Medicaid coverage changes designed to promote home and community-based services; 5) develop an equitable plan across health care provider types with stakeholder input prior to expiration of enhanced federal funding contained in the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021; 6) manage Medicaid payment methods for home and community-based services in a manner that ensures a living wage for caregivers, and periodically review the adequacy of rates in a transparent, verifiable manner, with predictable adjustments in wages to account for inflation; and 7) in collaboration with the Department of Community Affairs, increase affordable supportive housing through various policies, including better coordination of programs at the State level, and promoting the integration of acute, primary, and long-term care through the expansion of integrated care models, such as the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly.

Committee Categories

Reginald Atkins (D)*,  Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (D)*,  Shanique Speight (D)*,  Rosaura Bagolie (D),  Garnet Hall (D), 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Aging and Human Services Committee (on 06/13/2024)

Official Document