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S3905
SENATE, No. 3905
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED MARCH 12, 2026
Sponsored by:
Senator� ANGELA V. MCKNIGHT
District 31 (Hudson)
Senator� KRISTIN M. CORRADO
District 40 (Bergen, Essex and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
���� Establishes program for certain individuals to become
certified homemaker-home health aides and provide services to certain Medicaid
and Medicaid-Medicare dually eligible enrollees under increased reimbursement
rates.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As introduced.
��
An Act
concerning certified homemaker-home health aides
and home care services and supplementing P.L.1968, c.413 (C.30:4D-1 et seq.).
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� a.� No later than six
months after the effective date of this act, the Division of Medical Assistance
and Health Services in the Department of Human Services shall establish a
program under which a family member of an enrollee in Medicare, Medicaid, or NJ
FamilyCare, or a third-party individual approved by the enrollee or the
enrollee�s guardian, may be certified as a certified homemaker-home health aide
and, under the direction of a registered professional nurse, provide certified
homemaker-home health aide services to the enrollee through a home care
services agency under the reimbursement rates established pursuant to
subsection d. of this section, provided that the enrollee is 65 years of age or
older and qualifies for homemaker-home health aide services under Medicaid or
NJ FamilyCare.� The division shall develop an assessment tool that will allow
the division to readily identify enrollees who meet these eligibility criteria.
���� b.��� The program established
pursuant to this section shall require the family member or approved
third-party individual to complete all the training, testing, and other
qualification criteria as are required under State and federal law for
certification as a certified homemaker-home health aide.� The home care
services agency that will employ the family member or approved third-party
individual to provide homemaker-home health aide services to the enrollee shall
pay all costs for the family member or approved third-party individual to
become certified as a certified homemaker-home health aide.� In no case shall a
family member or approved third-party individual who becomes a certified
homemaker-home health aide
under the provisions of this
section be required to repay or reimburse the home care services agency for the
costs of the family member or approved third-party individual becoming
certified as a certified homemaker-home health aide
under the
program.
���� c.���� The tasks delegated by
a registered professional nurse to a family member or approved third-party
individual who becomes certified as a certified homemaker-home health aide
pursuant to this section shall be consistent with the tasks that may
be generally delegated to certified homemaker-home health aides
pursuant
to the rules of the New Jersey Board of Nursing.
���� d.��� Certified homemaker-home
health aide
services
provided by a family member of a Medicare, Medicaid, or NJ FamilyCare enrollee
or an approved third-party individual who becomes certified as a certified
homemaker-home health aide
under the program established
pursuant to this section shall be reimbursed at a rate of no less than $30 per
hour.�
���� 2.��� The Assistant
Commissioner of the Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services in the
Department of Human Services shall adopt rules and regulations, pursuant to the
�Administrative Procedure Act,� P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), as are
necessary to implement the provisions of this act.
���� 3.��� The Commissioner of
Human Services shall apply for such State plan amendments or waivers as may be
necessary to implement the provisions of this act and to secure federal
financial participation for State Medicaid expenditures under the federal
Medicaid program.
���� 4.��� This act shall take
effect nine months following enactment.
STATEMENT
����� This bill requires the Division of Medical Assistance
and Health Services (DMAHS) in the Department of Human Services (DHS) to
establish a program under which a family member of an enrollee in Medicare,
Medicaid, or NJ FamilyCare, or a third-party individual approved by the
enrollee or the enrollee�s guardian, may be certified as a certified
homemaker-home health aide (CHHA) and, under the direction of a registered
professional nurse, provide CHHA services to the enrollee through a home care
services agency, which services will be subject to an enhanced reimbursement
rate.� The program established under the bill will apply to enrollees who are
65 years of age or older and qualify for CHHA services under Medicaid or NJ
FamilyCare.� The DMAHS will be required to develop an assessment tool that will
allow the DMAHS to readily identify enrollees who meet these eligibility
criteria.
����� Under the program, the family member or approved
third-party individual will be required to complete all the training, testing,
and other qualification criteria as are required under State and federal law
for certification as a CHHA.� The home care services agency that will employ
the family member or approved third-party individual will be required to pay
all costs for the family member or approved third-party individual to become
certified as a CHHA.� In no case will the family member or approved third-party
individual be required to repay or reimburse the agency for the costs of
becoming a CHHA.
����� The tasks delegated by a registered professional
nurse to a family member or approved third-party individual who becomes
certified as a CHHA under the bill are to be consistent with the tasks that may
be generally delegated to CHHAs pursuant to the rules of the New Jersey Board
of Nursing.
����� CHHA services provided by a family member of a
Medicare, Medicaid, or NJ FamilyCare enrollee or an approved third-party
individual under the bill will be reimbursed at a rate of no less than $30 per
hour.�
����� The DMAHS will be required to establish the program
within six months after the effective date of the bill.� The DHS will be
required to apply for State plan amendments and waivers as are necessary to
implement the provisions of the bill and to secure federal financial
participation for State Medicaid expenditures under the federal Medicaid
program.