A current issue in the assisted living industry that has recently come to the forefront is the subject of assisted living accommodations under the New Jersey Medicaid program. Until recent years, Medicaid subsidy was not available to assisted living residents. Therefore, many residents had little choice but to leave their current home and move into a nursing facility that was willing to accept Medicaid as a form of payment.

The good news is that, in the state of New Jersey, 1500 Medicaid waiver "slots" were granted to accommodate those individuals who had spent their private assets and wished to stay in the assisted living setting. This was very good news to many families, as well as the assisted livings that chose to participate in the Medicaid program.

Today, the "bad news" is that all 1500 "slots" have been given to and are being used by residents in assisted living communities, thus leaving those who wish to move into an assisted living from home or who are already in assisted livings on a "waiting list" to receive a Medicaid "slot." Translation: There may not be a Medicaid slot available concurrent with the individual's need to go on the program.

The following is a list of procedures that one must follow in order to be placed on the assisted living Medicaid waiting list. Keep in mind that these procedures may change if and when more Medicaid slots are made available to those in need. Hopefully, these instructions will "make sense" of the procedures, so that those who are applying for someone for the first time will be somewhat "versed" in the process.

1) Contact your County Board of Social Services to begin the application for financial eligibility (there will be some paperwork to fill out as well as documents such as birth certificate, bank statements, etc. that will need to be produced).(* If you are on SSI, you may skip this step and contact the Long Term Care Field Office directly)

2) When your financial application has been approved, the Board of Social Services will then notify the County Long Term Care Field Office in writing of your financial approval. This will initiate an on site medical screening by a Medicaid nurse that will determine if the applicant is also medically eligible to receive Medicaid subsidy in an assisted living. This is called a "PAS"-pre admission screening.

3) If the financial and medical screen are approved, the applicant is eligible to be placed on the waiting list. The Long Term Care Field Office will then refer the individual's case to the Department of Health and Senior Services in Trenton-where the waiting list is maintained. (Therefore, once the application approval is complete, the local Long Term Care Field Office does not know the progress of the applicant's position on the waiting list)

4) Be advised that applicants who are already in assisted livings and are spending down their assets are prioritized on the list, as opposed to those who are still in the community.
These procedures may vary slightly from county to county. For example, some counties may take longer than others to process the application or to perform the medical screening. In some counties, a home visit may even be available for the financial application, depending on the availability of staff and the situation of the applicant. In any case, refer to your local health care professionals or Board of Social Service for guidance in these processes, as they are most likely familiar with the process and any changes that may have occurred in the programs.
-Monmouth County Board of Social Services 732-431-6000

Questions about Meridian Assisted Living? Call Marisa at Meridian Quality Care: 732-212-2600.