TRENTON – The Senate advanced legislation sponsored by Senator Joe Vitale and Senator Gordon Johnson that would help ease the regulatory and financial burdens on eligible residents who prefer to receive health care services and treatment in their own homes or community, as opposed to a hospital, or institutional setting.
“The ways we provide and deliver health care are constantly changing. Allowing individuals, especially our most vulnerable neighbors and friends, to receive the care, treatment and supports they need at home and in their own community is vital,” said Senator Vitale (D-Middlesex), Chair of the Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee. “This legislation will ensure these individuals don’t have to wait for the care they need.”
The bill, S-3495, would provide presumptive eligibility for home and community-based services under Medicaid, including those individuals awaiting an eligibility determination for Medicaid and any applicable Medicaid waiver program offering home and community-based services.
“Some of our most at-risk residents and seniors have difficulty getting from one place to another. What’s more, many are more comfortable receiving care in a setting with which they are familiar and where those closest to them can monitor their care,” said Senator Johnson (D-Bergen). “This bill will make sure these individuals can continue to receive quality care in their own homes, or a facility near to them.”
The bill was released from the Senate by a vote of 35-0.