News

August 1, 2022 On Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 4040 - Advancing Telehealth Beyond COVID-19 Act of 2021 - by a vote of 416 in favor and 12 in opposition. This bill would make permanent several telehealth flexibilities under Medicare that were initially aut...

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced today the launch of its newly enhanced Nursing Home Five-Star Quality Rating System, which integrates data nursing homes report on their weekend staffing rates for nurses, and information on annual turnover among nurses and ...

July 26, 2022 In March of 2022, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Dr. Shereef Elnahal for Under Secretary for Health, Veterans Health Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Yesterday, on July 21, 2022, the U.S. Senate voted to confirm Dr. Elnahal to hi...

July 26, 2022 New Jersey Assemblyman Ronald. S. Dancer (R-District 12) passed away on July 23rd at the age of 73. Dancer represented the 12th District since 2002 and served on the Agriculture and Food Security; Military a...

988, the new number for the national Suicide and Crisis Lifeline began operation this past Saturday in New Jersey and across the country. The number will supplement the previous Lifeline number, 1-800-273-TALK (8255), which will continue to function indefinitely alongside the new 988 numb...

July 19, 2022 On June 30, 2022, Governor Phil Murphy signed the Fiscal Year 2023 Appropriations Act into law, amounting to a $50.6 billion budget for the state for Fiscal Year 2023. As quoted on insider...

July 18, 2022 Beginning Saturday, July 16th, everyone across the country, regardless of where they are located, will be able to simply dial three numbers, 988, to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (Lifeline), previously ...

July 14, 2022 In March of 2020, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) allowed states to request blanket exceptions to be able to provide up to 28 and 14 days of take-home methadone for stable and less-stable patients, respectively. This move aimed to f...

July 12, 2022 "Legislators looking to add more mental health professionals statewide have allocated a combined $9.62 million in the new state budget to expand training programs to meet the demand," as reported in NJ Spotl...

July 11, 2022 On July 6th, six U.S. Senators issued a letter addressed to President Joe Biden, Attorney General Merrick Garland, and Health and Human Services Secretary (HHS) Xavier Becerra, urging them to remove cannabis' classifi...

July 7, 2022 Currently, the federal public health emergency (PHE), which began in March of 2020, is still in effect. With the PHE comes additional flexibilities relating to Medicaid beneficiaries' monetary resources and their eligibility for Medicaid. During the PHE, no Medicaid benef...

July 6, 2022 New Jersey is preparing to receive its share of the $26 billion federal opioid settlement that was announced in March of this year. Of the $26 billion settlement, New Jersey is set to receive $641 million in...

July 5, 2022 The New Jersey Department of Human Services (DHS) has announced plans to provide organizations access to free naloxone for 2022 through the DHS Naloxone Distribution Program. This year, DHS, through a new partnership, will be able to deliver naloxone kits directly to Ne...

June 30, 2022 New Jersey's Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee and General Assembly Budget Committee voted yesterday on a $50.6 billion FY2023 budget bill, a record high and well above Governor Murphy's proposed $48.9 billion budget. Floor votes in both houses were to take plac...

June 28, 2022 Last week, Rutgers University President Jonathan Holloway announced the Rutgers Future of Work initiative, allowing for employees to utilize flexible work arrangements for a year-long pilot program, beginning on September 1, 2022. The announcement comes a year after Ho...