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Governor Signs Bill Intended to Help People with
Brain Injury Access Group Home Services
Governor Phil Murphy, on July 29, 2022, signed into law legislation, Assembly Bill No. 3110 (A-3110), that would establish minimum Medicaid reimbursement rates for brain injury services.
The new law is intended to alleviates risk that some people with brain injury would be displaced from their group homes because of antiquated reimbursement rates provided through the Medicaid Long Terms Services and Supports (MLTSS) system. The new reimbursement rates establish parity with rates offered by the New Jersey Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD).
Some people with brain injury who require services can fall either within the New Jersey Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) or the Medicaid Long Terms Services and Supports (MLTSS) systems. Placement is dependent upon certain criteria, namely age of onset of brain injury. Before the creation of this new law, DDD reimbursed at a higher rate than MLTSS for certain identical services. Those providers who provide care within the MLTSS framework reported that it was becoming increasingly difficult to financially-sustain providing service to the approximately 300 people impacted by brain injury covered under MLTSS.
The law was a bipartisan effort led by Senator Richard Codey and Holly Schepisi in the Senate. Assemblymembers Mila Jasey, Daniel Benson, and Verlina Reynolds-Jackson were lead sponsors in the General Assembly. Other members of the State Legislature that sponsored the bill include: Marilyn Piperno, Kim Eulner, Ralph Caputo, Anthony Verrelli, Angelica Jimenez, Aura Dunn, Christian Barranco, John DiMaio, Brandon Umba, Brian Bergen, Dr. Herb Conaway, Kevin Rooney, Shanique Speight, Sterley Stanley, Carol Murphy, Angela McKnight, Edward Durr, Robert Singer, Fred Madden, Anthony Bucco, Samuel Thompson, Shirley Turner, Teresa Ruiz, and Declan O'Scanlon.
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