The Genworth Financial 2010 Cost of Care Study names New Jersey as second most expensive rates of assisted living facilities, while fourth state with most expensive nursing facilities throughout United States. However, New Jersey recorded much lower expenditures for home health services provided by a Medicare-certified home aide. In the last five years, the hourly rates in Southern New Jersey dropped by 6 percent per annum.

 

 

According to the 2000 Census, New Jersey has a population of 8.4 million people, with 1.4 million adults age 60 and older. In 1.4 million, there are more than 1.1 million age over 65, and 136,000 of them are over 85. In fact, the population of New Jersey than any of the other states since 13.2 percent of the population of the state are over 65 versus the national average of 12.4. These older adults more likely need long-term care to help them endure the effects of failing health.

 

Almost all adults who need long-term care in New Jersey (and the rest of the country) prefer to receive such care at home with the help of a loved one—children, relatives, and family members.  No matter how much elders wanted to receive home care, they are hampered with the insufficient help from the state and are forced to spend their hard-earned dollars  to meet such needs.  Otherwise, they will receive financial support readily from nursing homes. In 1992, New Jersey favored home and community-based settings compared to nursing homes. However, in the next four years, the state’s expenditures for nursing homes grew at fast rate, and the programs for home settings remained impossible.

 

There were statewide public forums held in 1990s that showed the strong consumer dissatisfaction with the state’s long term care. Unlike its neighbouring states –Oregon, Wisconsin, and many other states—New Jersey has not supported or initiated reforms and senior advocacy groups. This made New Jersey a less-friendly state for seniors.

 

 

New Jersey Long Term Care Information

 

The expansion of the federal Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 created reforms for long term care services funded by Medicaid. The program was initially tested on four states: New York, California, Indiana, and Connecticut to check the feasibility of reducing Medicaid expenditures.  This enabled all states to adopt long term care partnership program upon the approval of state plan amendment submitted to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services or CMS.

 

 

The New Jersey Long Term Care Insurance Partnership was approved by CMS on February 12, 2008, and became effective on July 1, 2008. The program is a collaboration of the New Jersey Department of Human Services and New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance. This program aims to address the underrated long term care services of the state. Partnership policies allow policyholders to buy benefits that are equal to the amount of assets to be protected. Before, policyholders had to become impoverished to meet the asset cut-off Medicaid. This, however, changed as policyholders are not forced to fritter all their assets just to reach the asset limit and become eligible for Medicaid. The “asset disregard” is the most promising feature of partnership policies.