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Policy Priorities Pushed for Legislation to Expand Lifetime Emergency Assistance Program in Effort to Prevent Homelessness New Jersey Senate and Assembly committees recently passed several of the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey’s (HCDNNJ’s) policy priorities. The committees advanced bills that fall into four categories: targeting blight, preventing homelessness, mitigating foreclosure, and improving housing conditions. HCDNNJ’s advocacy efforts were instrumental in getting the bills passed out of their committees. "We are working hard to build a thriving New Jersey and advancing these policies will help us reach that goal,” said Arnold Cohen, senior policy coordinator at HCDNNJ. “We applaud the committees for moving these bills and thank the sponsors for their leadership and tenacity.” HCDNNJ advocated for several years for a bill that permits land banking, and this year representatives from the organization testified to the New Jersey Senate Economic Growth Committee in support of land banking as a creative solution for abandoned properties. The Senate and Assembly bill (S.1214/A.3797) introduced by Senator Ruiz and Senator Cruz-Perez would allow municipalities to create land banks. Land banks are an important tool used in many other states to reclaim abandoned properties to restore economic vitality and investments in dis-invested neighborhoods. The Assembly Commerce and Economic Development Committee passed the bill on September 13 and the Senate Economic Growth Committee on October 18. During HCDNNJ’s annual Hill Day, its members advocated to expand emergency assistance benefits to prevent homelessness. Discussions with staff and legislators led to the introduction of a bill (S.1965/A.1887) that would make changes to some of New Jersey’s Emergency Assistance Program’s regulations. Sponsored by Senator Sweeney and Assemblyman Mukherji, the legislation would expand limitations on lifetime aid by amending existing regulations. Assistance from the previous seven years would not be counted towards the lifetime cap. The Senate passed the bill unanimously on June 7 and the Assembly Human Services Committee passed it on October 18. The bill was referred to the Assembly Appropriations Committee. Foreclosure is another major housing issue HCDNNJ prioritizes because New Jersey continues to have one of the highest foreclosure rates in the nation. Legislation (A.664/S.1244) sponsored by Assemblywoman Jasey and Senator Rice would dedicate foreclosure filing fees and fines to administer the New Jersey Judiciary's Foreclosure Mediation Program. This program provides certain homeowners in foreclosure a right to mediation – a process to help homeowners avoid foreclosure by coming up with an alternate solution that benefits both borrowers and lenders. The Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee passed the bill on October 22. The final bill HCDNNJ has been advocating for (A.1433/S. 2882) would address mold in homes. There are currently no regulations or standards in New Jersey to regulate mold. Sponsored by Assemblyman Benson and Senator Madden, the bill would require the Department of Community Affairs to establish procedures for the inspection and abatement of mold in homes and schools, as well as create certification programs for mold inspectors and other mold-abatement positions. The Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee passed the bill on October 22. For more information about the policy priorities an legislation, contact HCDNNJ Policy Director Arnold Cohen. HCDNNJ Website Follow us on Apple News Subscribe to Our Newsletter for News You Can Use Every Day Subscribe to Our Weekly Newsletter Delivered on Friday Read the full article

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Message from AOTA...call House Switchboard 202.224.3121, ask for your Rep and share this message below.  CONTACT YOUR HOUSE MEMBER TODAY The US Senate passed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, which includes three provisions critical to occupational therapy: Aversion of the scheduled 26.5% Medicare fee schedule cut; One year extension of the therapy cap exceptions process; and One year extension of the work geographic adjustment. While these provisions are positive steps for the profession, the legislation also increases the multiple procedure payment reduction (MPPR) policy applied to the practice expense portion of therapy codes to 50%. This is an increase from the current policy set at 20% in private practice and 25% in facilities. This arbitrary 50% increase applied across disciplines is a flawed policy that would restrict patient access to vital therapy services and be particularly harmful to beneficiaries with multiple chronic conditions, requiring higher levels of care. The current legislation has been passed by the Senate and awaits action by the House of Representatives. Call your member of the House today (202)-224-3121 (Capitol switchboard) or go to AOTA's legislative action center and tell your Member to oppose any increase to the MPPR across disciplines as it would negatively impact beneficiary access to critical care. Use the talking points below for additional information. Not Discipline Specific: The current MPPR policy on therapy imposes a reduction to all therapy services and is not a discipline specific policy. For example, if a patient sees a physical therapist and an occupational therapist in the same day both providers are affected by the MPPR reduction. Physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech-language pathology are three separate and distinct services. To spread an MPPR over the three therapies equates to reducing payment for a cardiologist because a patient saw their general practitioner earlier in the day. Impact on Patient Care: The proposal would restrict patient access to vital therapy services. Particularly hard hit would be patients with multiple chronic conditions, who might benefit the most from intensive therapy treatment programs. Efficiencies Accounted For: MPPR is based on the assumption that duplication exists in the practice expense portion of therapy codes billed on the same day. However, therapy codes are unlike most Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes in that the practice expense for a typical visit is spread out among multiple codes since multiple services are typically provided to a patient during a visit. In other words, CPT recognized that services are billed through multiple codes and valued the existing codes correctly to account for efficiencies in practice expenses. . Original Data Flawed: The original data utilized for the current MPPR did not accurately define the length of an average therapy visit. As a result, the data has further skewed assumed efficiencies in the policy.

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