January 2023

Dear Colleague,

Happy New Year to everyone on this list!

I have distributed information previously on the Public Health Emergency (PHE) that started back in March, 2020 and "Medicaid Unwinding", the term that is used to describe the process in which everyone who receives NJ FamilyCare/Medicaid will be asked to complete a redetermination application for Medicaid.  Please note: This information applies to people who have NJ FamilyCare/Medicaid and not to those who have SSI and Medicaid.

We received the email below from Jennifer Langer Jacobs, the Assistant Commissioner of the Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services (known as NJ Medicaid). In addition to the information in the email below, please continue to monitor the bank account and resources of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) to be certain that they do not exceed the maximum allowable amount of resources for their Medicaid category.  Excerpts from an email on "Medicaid Unwinding" that The Arc of New Jersey distributed previously can be viewed here.

As soon as we receive additional information about the Medicaid redetermination process from Assistant Commissioner Jenn Jacobs, we will share it with you.

Please share this email with others who may also be interested. Thank you.

Bev 

Beverly Roberts
Director, Mainstreaming Medical Care
The Arc of New Jersey
985 Livingston Avenue
North Brunswick, NJ 08902
Direct line and fax: 732.246.2567
Dear NJ FamilyCare community,
 
I hope you have enjoyed a happy and healthy holiday season. As many of you know, we had been anticipating an announcement from the federal government about the end of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE). Late in 2022, we began to hear that Congress might separate the Medicaid continuous enrollment requirement from the ongoing PHE – and they in fact did so in late December, in the omnibus spending bill signed into law by President Biden on December 29, 2022.  As a result, while the PHE continues, states are now required to resume Medicaid eligibility processes beginning April 1, 2023
 
We are anticipating guidance from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in early January, and we will be prepared to share an update with you at our February 1 meeting of the Medical Assistance Advisory Council. We will also be updating our StayCoveredNJ website, removing references to the end of the PHE and clearly stating the April 1 date for when eligibility processes will resume. Please visit our Community Toolkit page for posters in English, Spanish, and 19 other languages.
 
In the meantime, here are the two most important things for our NJ FamilyCare members to know:
  • Make sure NJ FamilyCare/Medicaid has your correct mailing address
  • Members can confirm or update their contact information by calling NJ FamilyCare at 1-800-701-0710 (TTY: 711). NJ FamilyCare will use this information to communicate with members about their healthcare coverage.
  • Respond to mail from NJ FamilyCare/Medicaid
  • Members need to look for and respond to mail from the State of New Jersey or their local County Board of Social Services. If NJ FamilyCare requests information, they need to respond right away to avoid a gap in their NJ FamilyCare coverage.
 
On behalf of the whole DMAHS team, I wish you happiness and health in 2023. We look forward to working together with you to serve people the best way possible in the months ahead!

Jennifer Langer Jacobs (she/her)
Assistant Commissioner, Division of Medical Assistance & Health Services
NJ Department of Human Services   
You are encouraged to share this information with others who may also be interested. However, if you are forwarding this, please delete the "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of this email. If you do not remove the "unsubscribe" option and a person who receives your forwarded email clicks "unsubscribe," it would result in your name being removed from our distribution list.

Click here to see The Arc of NJ's COVID-19 information and resource page. 
Click here to access information from the State Of New Jersey on COVID-19.