Providing support to persons with disabilities throughout their lifespan so they can achieve their highest level of independence
in their community.
News for Our Consumers
February 2023
“Medicaid Unwinding”
Be Prepared for Changes in Medicaid Benefits on April 1, 2023
A flyer for N J calls on looking out for the Family Care Medicaid renewal packet. Graphics include a mailbox and an envelope open to reveal a form.
Since March 2020, NJ FamilyCare/Medicaid has followed special federal rules during the COVID-19 pandemic emergency. These rules have allowed most NJ FamilyCare/Medicaid members to keep their health coverage, even if they no longer qualified (for example, if their income was too high). However, Congress recently passed legislation: On April 1, 2023, state Medicaid programs must go back to following normal federal rules. Therefore, New Jersey will go back to performing yearly eligibility reviews for everyone enrolled in NJ FamilyCare/Medicaid.
What You Need to Do
This means that all members enrolled in an NJ FamilyCare program will be reviewed to see if they still qualify for coverage. As part of this review, many members will receive mail from the State of New Jersey or their County Board of Social Services. 
  • Make sure your address is up to date, especially if you have moved recently. Update your address by calling 800-701-0710.
  • Watch your mail for your NJ FamilyCare renewal packet. 

Members will have to provide or confirm additional information, so NJ FamilyCare/Medicaid can decide whether they still qualify for healthcare coverage. Members who do not respond to NJ FamilyCare/Medicaid mail may lose their coverage.
The logo for Get Covered N J consists of the first two words in a dark blue font. The NJ is a lighter blue and the letters formed by a white outline of a map of New Jersey. Under this text reads New Jersey's official health insurance marketplace.
Another Option: GetCoveredNJ, the Health Insurance Marketplace
People who no longer qualify for NJ FamilyCare may be able to get health coverage through GetCoveredNJ, the New Jersey’s official health insurance marketplace. GetCoveredNJ offers immediate eligibility results. It also says whether people can get help lowering the cost of their monthly health insurance premiums. After reviewing their results, people who are eligible for Marketplace coverage can compare options and enroll in a Marketplace plan that best meets their needs.
Update on SNAP Benefits
Part of the Medicaid unwinding included ending SNAP Emergency Allotments. On February 8, 2023, Governor Phil Murphy signed legislation to ensure the regular minimum SNAP benefit in New Jersey, starting March 1, will be $95, not the previous $50.
A graphic announces the Medicaid unwinding information session in English and Spanish against a shaded gray background. At the bottom a laptop notebooks a cup of coffee and a pair of reading glasses lay atop a table.
Learn More at the Information Session
The New Jersey Council on Developmental Disabilities will present an information session: Medicaid Unwinding and a Discussion with State Leadership.
  • Beverly Roberts, Director, Mainstreaming Medical Care, Arc of New Jersey, will explain what families need to know to make sure that loved ones with an intellectual/developmental disability can keep their Medicaid coverage.
  • Paul Aronsohn, Ombudsman for People with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities and Their Families, will listen to families and provide quick updates.

Ms. Roberts and Mr. Aronsohn will spend ample time answering questions. Those planning to attend are encouraged to submit questions through the registration page or send them to Kyoko.Coco@njcdd.org before the meeting. In addition, questions during the meeting will be welcome.
Thursday, March 9
6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Progress in Access to Quality Health Care Services
Discussed at Legislative Disability Caucus
Click on the image above to watch and listen to the recording of this month’s session of the New Jersey Legislative Disability Caucus.
On Tuesday, February 21, the New Jersey Legislative Disability Caucus held its most recent quarterly meeting. The Caucus “serves as a bipartisan forum within the New Jersey Legislature for lawmakers and their staff to consider the impact on the disability community when shaping all public policies in the Garden State.” This session covered the ability for persons with disabilities to gain access to quality health care services in the state. Some of the highlights of the meeting were as follows:

  • Lack of access to health care services. Health care is New Jersey’s largest industry. Yet, people with disabilities were affected by a lack of access during the COVID-19 pandemic much more than the general population. This was made worse by the fact that some one in five workers with a disability lost their job.
  • Shortage of people in the health care professions. Since the onset of the pandemic, nurses and doctors have experienced more than 10,000 incidents of workplace violence, leading many to leave the field. Another area of concern is many doctors and nurses are retiring, with fewer young people filling their jobs.
  • Professional training in these professions to treat the disability community. Progress in providing medical students with instruction and experience with people with all disabilities is being made and needs to continue.
  • Low Medicaid reimbursement. New Jersey lags far behind nearly every other state in paying for medical services (especially for dental care) covered by Medicaid. The rate of reimbursement is only about half that of Medicare. Assemblyman Louis Greenwald discussed how he is working with his colleagues to change this situation.
  • More services are needed in mental health and dental care. More than one-third of people with a developmental disability also have a psychiatric disorder, as well as higher rates of trauma. With poor access to the proper care they need (along with the too-low rates of Medicaid reimbursement), these people often turn to the emergency room, whose staff are often not trained to handle these cases.

People with developmental disabilities are “underserved.” Under both the ADA and the American Medical Association, people with developmental disabilities have received the formal designation as an underserved population. “New Jersey as a state must address this concern, moving beyond geography to identify underserved populations,” said Dr. Deborah Spitalnik, Director of the Boggs Center. “This would make New Jersey a leader, helping set the standards for federal efforts.” 
A graphic for the New Jersey Legislative Disability Caucus features the title in blue letters against a horizontal yellow banner. Underneath that is a photo of the New Jersey state capitol building. To the right is the seal of the state of New Jersey.
Attendees this month included the following:
  • Mercedes Witkowsky, Executive Director, NJCDD
  • Robert Titus, Public Policy Coordinator, NJCDD
  • Dr. Deborah Spitalnik, Professor at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Executive Director, The Boggs Center
  • Cathleen Bennett, President and CEO, New Jersey Hospital Association
  • Senator Anthony M. Bucco (R., 25th District), Co-Chair
  • Awilda Diaz, Policy Director for Senator M. Teresa Ruiz (D., 29th District)
  • Assemblyman Louis D. Greenwald (D., 26th District), Co-chair
  • Assemblywoman Aura Dunn (R., 25th District), Co-chair.
NJCDD Quarterly Meeting
A graphic reads Virtual Public Meeting Thursday March 9. Above is the logo for N J C D D. In the lower right-hand corner are a potted plant and a yellow cup with pens and pencils.
The New Jersey Council on Developmental Disabilities (NJCDD) will hold its first-quarter Public Meeting in March. Please submit any written public comment to Jacinta.williams@njcdd.org by Wednesday March 8. 
Thursday, March 9
9:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Fosterfields Offers Sensory-Friendly Saturdays
A view of Fosterfields Farm in Morris County New Jersey shows a gravel path leading to two red barns. The picture is framed by trees and a blue sky with several puffy white clouds.
Visit Fosterfields Living Historical Farm for Sensory-Friendly Saturdays! This hour-long program allows individuals and families to come to the farm and enjoy the open, quiet spaces with no crowds. This event is designed to be less overwhelming to those with sensory sensitivities.

Registration is required. For more information, please call 973-326-7645.
Saturday, March 18
9:30 – 10:30 a.m.
Fosterfields Living Historical Farm
73 Kahdena Road
Morristown, New Jersey
Photo of Fosterfields Living Historical Farm courtesy of dlberek
Disability Themes Run Strong Among Animated and Graphic Novel Heroes
The Abilities dot com logo features the word Abilities in a gradient orange and com in purple surrounded by a ring of the same color.
There is power in weakness. “My strength is made perfect in weakness. Power… weakness… how are they linked in the arena of anime and manga?” asks the author, Tony Stephens, an artist with an invisible disability.

Stephens notes how anime and manga have long featured individuals with a disability or medical condition. He offers a list, a top ten, of characters in both forms of pop culture.
Comments Sought for Proposed
HUD Fair Housing Rule
A young family poses in front of a suburban home. They all have medium brown skin and dark brown hair. The father wears a pink short-sleeved shirt. The mother wears a light yellow shirt. Each parent has a young daughter on their back.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) seeks comments on a recently published proposed rule implementing the mandate under the Fair Housing Act to “affirmatively further fair housing” with actions to overcome patterns of discrimination, promote fair housing choices, and provide fair housing opportunities for all, including individuals with disabilities.

Under the proposed rule, housing programs must consider people with disabilities and accessibility needs. The rule requires these programs to consult with organizations that advocate on behalf of older adults and people with disabilities—such as centers for independent living and county aging and disability resource centers. 
66 Ford Road, Suite 121
Denville, NJ 07834
973-625-1940