STATEMENT TO

[First Reprint]

SENATE, No. 2118

with Assembly Floor Amendments

(Proposed by Assemblyman CONAWAY)

ADOPTED: JUNE 16, 2022

      These Assembly amendments specify that the Commissioner of Human Services shall, no later than the first day of the fourteenth month following the expiration of the federal COVID-19 public health emergency, direct the Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services in the Department of Human Services or a county welfare agency to conduct Medicaid and NJ FamilyCare eligibility redeterminations within 365 days of the date of a beneficiary’s initial enrollment in, or the date of the beneficiary’s last eligibility redetermination for, the Medicaid or NJ FamilyCare programs.  The intent is to provide the commissioner with discretion regarding the timing of initiating the eligibility redetermination requirements established under the bill, in order to avoid a conflict with the division’s processing of eligibility redeterminations in the fourteen months following the end of the federal COVID-19 public health emergency, as mandated by the federal government.

      The Assembly amendments additionally provide for at least 12 months of continuous Medicaid eligibility for adult Medicaid and NJ FamilyCare eligibility groups, in order to avoid restricting benefits for certain adult eligibility groups, such as pregnant women, that are entitled to more than 12 months of continuous Medicaid eligibility.

      The Assembly amendments authorize the commissioner to adopt rules and regulations pursuant to the “Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), which rules and regulations will be effective immediately upon filing with the Office of Administrative Law for a period of up to 18 months; thereafter, the rules and regulations may be amended, adopted, or readopted in accordance with the “Administrative Procedure Act.”