Bill Text: NJ S4311 | 2026-2027 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: "Self-Directed Care Access Act"; requires DHS to establish common intake system and application process for Medicaid self-directed care programs.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: (Introduced) 2026-05-21 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee [S4311 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2026-S4311-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator ANGELA V. MCKNIGHT
District 31 (Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
"Self-Directed Care Access Act"; requires DHS to establish common intake system and application process for Medicaid self-directed care programs.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning Medicaid home and community-based services and supplementing Title 30 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Self-Directed Care Access Act."
2. As used in this act:
"Applicant" means a Medicaid enrollee who has a pending application to receive home and community-based services through a State Medicaid waiver program that provides participants with home and community-based services.
"Self-directed employee" means a person who is recruited and offered employment directly by a Medicaid enrollee who is eligible to receive services funded by the Division of Developmental Disabilities or the Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services in the Department of Human Services, or the Medicaid enrollee's authorized representative, to perform approved services, for which the self-directed employee is qualified.
3. Contingent upon the receipt of any necessary federal approvals and to the extent permitted under federal and State law, the Department of Human Services shall establish an online portal through which an individual who currently participates in a Medicaid waiver program that offers home and community-based services, or an applicant for such a Medicaid waiver program, may apply in order to self-direct the services accessed through the applicable Medicaid waiver program.
4. a. The online portal established pursuant to section 3 of this act shall enable an individual who currently participates in a Medicaid waiver program that offers home and community-based services, or an applicant for such a Medicaid waiver program, to undergo an initial screening assessment to determine whether the individual or applicant may qualify to self-direct the services accessed through the applicable Medicaid waiver program.
b. Based upon the information provided pursuant to subsection a. of this section, the individual or the applicant shall be automatically referred to any appropriate Medicaid waiver programs for which the applicant is eligible and that also enable participants to self-direct the home and community-based services accessed through the Medicaid waiver program.
5. The Department of Human Services, to the extent feasible under federal law and regulations, shall provide for:
a. a single, standardized application for all Medicaid waiver programs that offer home and community-based services for participants and that also enable participants to self-direct the home and community-based services accessed through the Medicaid waiver program; and
b. standardized documentation, across all applicable Medicaid waiver programs that offer home and community-based services, that a program participant shall submit to the department prior to hiring a self-directed employee to provide services for the program participant.
6. 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.
7. The Commissioner of Human Services shall, in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), adopt rules and regulations as necessary to implement this act.
8. This act shall take effect twelve months following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill, the "Self-Directed Care Access Act," requires the Department of Human Services (department), contingent on the receipt of any necessary federal approvals, to establish a single online portal through which individuals who currently participate in a Medicaid waiver program that offers home and community-based services, or an applicant for such a Medicaid waiver program, may apply in order to self-direct the services accessed through the applicable Medicaid waiver program.
The online portal will enable an individual who currently participates in a Medicaid home and community-based waiver program, or an applicant for such a waiver program, to undergo an initial screening assessment to determine whether the individual or applicant may qualify to self-direct the services accessed through the applicable waiver program. Based on the information provided during the screening assessment, the individual or the applicant will be automatically referred to any appropriate Medicaid waiver programs for which they are eligible and that also enable participants to self-direct the services accessed through the waiver program.
To the extent feasible under federal law and regulations, the department will provide for a single, standardized application for all Medicaid waiver programs that offer home and community-based services and that also enable program participants to self-direct the home and community-based services accessed through the waiver program. The department will also provide for standardized documentation, across all applicable Medicaid waiver programs that provide home and community-based services, that a program participant must submit prior to hiring a self-directed employee.
The provisions of the bill will take effect twelve months following the date of enactment.
It is the sponsor's intent to simplify the process by which individuals and families access self-directed home and community-based services, available through certain Medicaid waiver programs, and to eliminate existing administrative barriers that make it difficult for some individuals and families to self-direct these services.
Currently, the State offers the following Medicaid waiver programs that enable participants to self-direct their home and community-based services: the Supports Program and the Community Care Program, administered by the Division of Developmental Disabilities; and the Personal Preference Program, administered by the Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services.
