Bill Text: NJ S3379 | 2018-2019 | Regular Session | Amended


Bill Title: Establishes "Comprehensive Geriatric Fall Prevention Pilot Program" in DHS; appropriates $11.7 million.*

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-09-10 - Referred to Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee [S3379 Detail]

Download: New_Jersey-2018-S3379-Amended.html

[First Reprint]

SENATE, No. 3379

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

218th LEGISLATURE

 

INTRODUCED JANUARY 24, 2019

 


 

Sponsored by:

Senator  JOSEPH F. VITALE

District 19 (Middlesex)

Senator  JOSEPH P. CRYAN

District 20 (Union)

 

Co-Sponsored by:

Senators A.R.Bucco, Greenstein, Madden and B.Smith

 

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS

     Establishes "Comprehensive Geriatric Fall Prevention Pilot Program" in DHS; appropriates $11.7 million.

 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     As reported by the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee on September 10, 2019, with amendments.

 


An Act concerning geriatric falls and making an appropriation.

 

     Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

 

     1.    The Legislature finds and declares that:

     a.     Geriatric falls, which are the leading cause of death and hospitalization among people 65 years of age or older in New Jersey, constitute a costly public health crisis for New Jersey;

     b.    Reducing preventable adverse events, such as elder falls, is an important aspect to improving the safety of elderly people in the State;

     c.     Approximately 85 percent of fall-related hospitalizations and 77 percent of fall-related deaths occur among 1[elderly]1 people 1who are1 75 years of age or older;

     d.    1[On the national level, the number of hip fractures is estimated to be] Nationwide, it is estimated that1 approximately 400,000 1[per] hip fractures occur each1 year, with 90 percent of 1those1 fractures occurring in patients older than 65 years of age 1[and with projections] .  Moreover, it is projected1 that this number will increase 1by a factor of1 50 percent by the year 2025;

     e.     The Medicaid program is funded equally by federal and State money, and increased costs from the falls of elderly people receiving health care benefits under the program mean additional costs to the State;

     f.     AARP estimates that each year over 55,000 older New Jersey residents suffer fall-related injuries resulting in emergency room visits, hospitalizations, and long-term care 1[, and it] It1 is estimated that 1the1 New Jersey Medicaid 1program1 will spend in excess of $1 billion per year on geriatric fall-related injuries;

     g.    The State should devote additional resources to research regarding the prevention and treatment of falls in residential and institutional settings;

     h.    A Statewide approach, which focuses on the daily life of elderly people in residential, institutional, and community settings and includes input from a wide range of organizations and individuals, including family members and health care professionals, is needed to help reduce elder falls;

     i.     Since 2000, several states have implemented fall prevention programs for the elderly to reduce 1the number of1 falls and fall-related injuries 1[,]1 and 1to1 reduce associated costs to their Medicaid programs 1[; the] .  A1 program in Pennsylvania reportedly reduced fall-related hospitalizations by 64 percent and cut acute care Medicaid costs by 80 percent for 2,394 elderly Medicaid recipients over a three-year period 1[;] .1  Florida reportedly achieved a 1[reduction of]1 60 percent 1reduction1 in injurious falls among 6,060 older Medicaid recipients, and its Medicaid program achieved a return of $2.40 for every dollar invested in the program 1[;] .1  New York State's Medicaid fall prevention program enjoyed similarly successful results, with a return of over $3.00 for every dollar invested in its program;

     j.     New Jersey should join these states in reducing the frequency, severity, and cost of geriatric falls by establishing a comprehensive geriatric fall prevention pilot program modeled on successful programs adopted in other states; and

     k.    This act is intended to be financially self-supporting, 1[due to the] as it is1 anticipated 1that reductions in the number and severity of fall-related injuries, as well as resulting nursing home admissions, will result in1 savings 1[by] to1 the State Medicaid program 1[, as fall injuries are reduced, and nursing home admissions are likewise reduced]1 .

 

     2.    a.  There is established, in the Department of Human Services, a three-year "Comprehensive Geriatric Fall Prevention Pilot Program" 1[targeting] under which1 at least 1[10,000] 6,0001 Medicaid recipients 60 years of age or over 1[to] will1 receive proven fall-prevention services, including, but not limited to, proven interventions that prevent falls and rehabilitative services for fall victims that help prevent subsequent falls.  This pilot program shall provide intensive fall prevention programs for the elderly Medicaid recipients most in need of such services, as determined by the Commissioner of Human Services, and shall provide a less intensive but effective program for all Medicare-Medicaid dual eligible beneficiaries.  The purpose of this program shall be to develop effective strategies to reduce elder falls and 1[their] the1 associated costs 1of those falls.  The pilot program shall also designate at least 6,000 Medicaid recipients 60 years of age or over to serve as a control group to measure the comparative effects of the pilot program1 .

     b.    The Director of the Division of Aging Services in the Department of Human Services shall contract with a qualified organization to administer the pilot program principally to elderly Medicaid recipients, their families and caregivers, and health care professionals.  The program shall focus on ways to reduce the risk of falls, and to the extent practicable, shall incorporate strategies to achieve the following goals:

     (1)   to increase awareness among elderly recipients, physicians, pharmacists, allied health professionals, community-based health organizations, and others, of fall risk factors and actions that can reduce falls;

     (2)   to provide state-of-the-art individualized fall risk assessments, including computerized dynamic posturography, application of logistical aggression models for pharmaceutical fall risk, occupational and physical therapy analysis of gait and balance disorders, and effective risk assessment;

     (3)   to provide proven individualized counseling on risk mitigation strategies, including consultation with family members of elderly recipients, 1[care givers] caregivers1 , and providers, where appropriate;

     (4)   to implement strategies that are proven effective in reducing subsequent falls by elderly fall victims;

     (5)   to expand proven interventions that prevent falls by elderly recipients;

     (6)   to improve the diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of elderly fall victims; and

     (7)   to assess the risk of falls occurring in various settings.

     c.     The director shall establish the pilot program in such counties as to be proportional to the number of Medicare-Medicaid dual eligible beneficiaries in the State and in such other urban areas as deemed appropriate.

 

     3.    The Commissioner of Human Services shall undertake a review of the effects of falls on costs to the State Medicaid program, and the potential for reducing those costs by implementing proven fall prevention services.  This review shall include, but not be limited to, a review of the reimbursement policy of the State Medicaid program in order to determine if additional services should be covered or if reimbursement guidelines for fall prevention-related services should be modified.

     Not later than three years after the effective date of this act, the commissioner shall evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the pilot program and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), report to the Legislature any findings and recommendations, including recommendations for Statewide implementation of a geriatric fall prevention program.

 

     4.    There is appropriated 1[$26] $11.71 million from the General Fund to the Department of Human Services for the purpose of carrying out the pilot program in accordance with this act.

 

     5.    This act shall take effect immediately, and shall expire upon the filing of the report required pursuant to section 3 of this act.

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