NJ Spotlight published the following article on July 1, 2014. To read the full article, click here.
New Era Begins for Long-Term Care in NJ as Healthcare Model Shifts
Andrew Kitchenman | July 1, 2014
Today marks a key moment in the transformation of long-term care in New Jersey, as the state shifts from a system that emphasized nursing homes toward one that gives more funding to home-based and community services.
Under the Medicaid Managed Long-Term Supports and Services (MLTSS) program launching today, New Jersey will no longer pay a fee for each individual long-term medical-related service residents receive. Instead, the state will pay managed care organizations a fixed amount to coordinate all of the healthcare and other long-term services.
The managed-care program is the centerpiece of five-year Medicaid comprehensive waiver, which aims to save the state money while still improving services by focusing more on residents’ individual needs.
The complicated rule-making process — in which the state sought input from the various interest groups affected by the change — delayed the program into the third year of the waiver, which also starts today.