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By Kate Blisard
 On
June 22, the Independence, Choice and Dignity in Long-Term Care Act was signed
into law by Gov. Jon Corzine (D-N.J.).
According
to a “Star Ledger” article, Corzine told an audience of AARP members
that given the “explosion” of elderly people expected in the next
decade, the law will help the state save an estimated $500 million, “and
we would have been doing better for our seniors as far as quality of life is
concerned.”
The legislation states that “older adults and those with
physical disabilities or Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders that
require a nursing facility level of care should not be forced to choose between
going into a nursing home or giving up the medical assistance that pays for
their needed services and thereby be denied the right to choose where they
receive those services.”
The legislation cites the federal New Freedom
Initiative of 2001, the 1999 United States Supreme Court decision Olmstead v.
L.C., mandating each state to design and implement an Olmstead state plan to
decrease institutional living and an executive order issued in 2004 directing
the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) to create a budget process
for redirecting Medicaid money for community living. An executive order issued
in 2005 established a “money follows the person” pilot program and
set aside funding in 2006 for home and community-based long term care.
Sen.
Loretta Weinberg (DDist. 37), a primary sponsor of the new law, said, “It
was an honor to participate in the crafting of this legislation. I think it
will have a great impact on the lives of seniors and disabled residents. I am
very, very happy that the governor signed it.”
A host of
legislators from both sides of the aisle in the New Jersey Statehouse joined
Weinberg as primary and co-sponsors to make this bill a law.
“This is
not only for seniors, but its disabled folks.
That’s where you see so many young people who do not belong in
nursing homes,” said Weinberg.
This act takes effect immediately and
implementation of this law is to be phased-in through fiscal year 2013. It
requires a major overhaul of how New Jersey uses its Medicaid funding to
provide more community options for people with disabilities and seniors and
decrease the institutional bias that has existed in this state.
According to
the legislation, a pilot program will begin March 1, in Atlantic and Warren
counties and is projected to become operative statewide by January 2008.
A
Medicaid Long-Term Care Funding Advisory Council will be established within the
DDHS to monitor, assess and advise the commissioner of Health and Human
Services on implementing the provisions of the act and developing
recommendations for a stable workforce of home providers. The council is
comprised of 15 members, including the New Jersey Association of County Offices
for the Disabled, AARP, Rutgers Center for Health Policy, New Jersey Elders
Coalition and the New Jersey Hospital Association.
“I
believe this is a good law as long as the disability community remains as equal
partners,” said Nicole Davis, urban outreach coordinator for the
Progressive Center for Independent Living.
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