SENATE HEALTH, HUMAN SERVICES AND SENIOR CITIZENS COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 2920

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  JUNE 6, 2024

      The Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Senate Bill No. 2920.

      This bill, as amended, requires that the Medicaid reimbursement rate for inpatient room and board hospice services provided in an inpatient unit by a licensed hospice care program be equal to the Medicaid reimbursement rate for room and board hospice services provided by a nursing home.  The reimbursement rate provided under the bill will not apply to medical hospice care provided in a patient’s home or for days of inpatient care otherwise covered by the hospice medical benefit under 42 CFR 418.108 and 42 CFR 418.110. 

      For patients admitted to the inpatient unit of an inpatient hospice care program, the reimbursement rate will apply to days of care when the patient is at the routine level of care, as that level of care is defined for the purposes of the federal Medicaid program, as well as to any days during which the patient is no longer receiving hospice care services from the program but continues to reside with the program pending transfer to another facility.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

      The committee amendments make technical changes to the bill to update the underlying statutory language to reflect current law.