SENATE HEALTH, HUMAN SERVICES AND SENIOR CITIZENS COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 2472

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  JUNE 20, 2024

      The Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee reports favorably Senate Bill No. 2472.

      This bill requires the Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services within the Department of Human Services to establish a minimum Medicaid and NJ FamilyCare reimbursement rate of $950.00 per day for pediatric special care nursing facilities (SCNFs).  Pediatric SCNFs provide specialized, long-term care and rehabilitation to medically fragile children and youth, up to 21 years of age.  The bill, however, conditions the provision of this minimum reimbursement rate upon a facility’s compliance with applicable State and federal laws and regulations concerning licensure, patient safety, and quality of care.  The bill additionally appropriates from the General Fund to the Department of Human Services such sums as are necessary to implement this reimbursement rate increase.

      New Jersey currently has four pediatric SCNFs that participate in the State Medicaid program and the NJ FamilyCare program:  the Pediatric Long Term Care Center at Children’s Specialized Hospital (Mountainside and Toms River), the Phoenix Center for Rehabilitation and Pediatrics (Haskell), and the Voorhees Pediatric Facility (Voorhees).