President Biden Signs PACT Act into Law, Expanding Benefits and Services for Toxin-Exposed Veterans
August 15, 2022
On Wednesday, August 10, 2022, President Joe Biden signed the
Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to
Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act of 2022 into law,
amending various Veteran's Affairs (VA) authorities related to
health care and benefits t...
Increases in Youth Behavioral Health Hospital Visits Continue to Cause Concerns
August 11, 2022
A
New Jersey Hospital Association (NJHA) analysis
reviewed hospital claims data for both emergency department
visits and inpatient admissions for individuals ages 12 to 17
from 2017 to 2021. This analysis found that the proportion of
depression-related hospitalizati...
Inflation Reduction Act Passes Senate and Moves to the House
August 9, 2022
On Sunday, August 7, 2022, the United States Senate passed the
Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (H.R.5376),
sweeping legislation that addresses many Democratic priorities,
such as health care, taxes, and climate action. The legislation
was passed by a vote of 51 in favor...
U.S. Declares Monkeypox a Public Health Emergency as Demand for Vaccines Exceeds Supply in NJ
August 8, 2022
On August 4th, the Biden Administration declared
monkeypox a public health emergency as the number of confirmed
cases in the country rises above 7,000. According to Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
data, as of August 4th, there were a
total of 7,102 c...
New Law Requires NJ School Districts to Have Threat Assessment Teams
August 4, 2022
On Monday, Governor Phil Murphy signed into law
A4047/3229, which requires each public school
district in the state to develop threat assessment teams before
the start of the new school year in September. The legislation
aims to evaluate and intervene with students who...
“Degree Stigma” May Be Contributing to Workforce Recruitment Issues
August 2, 2022
"Degree Stigma" consists of requiring degrees and not focusing on
candidates' skills or experience. Many employers demonstrate
reluctance to relax traditional degree requirements, potentially
due to their uncertainty on how to measure the value of
alternative credential...
Biden-Harris Administration Announces Two New Actions to Address Youth Mental Health Crisis
August 1, 2022
The Biden-Harris Administration recently announced two new
actions to strengthen school-based mental health services and
address the youth mental health crisis, in support of the
strategies laid out in the President's
comprehensive national mental health strategy.
...
House Passes Advancing Telehealth Beyond COVID-19 Act of 2021
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...
CMS Announces Launch of Enhanced Nursing Home Five-Star Quality Rating System
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 ...
Dr. Shereef Elnahal Confirmed by Senate as Department of Veterans Affairs Under Secretary for Health
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...
Assemblyman Ronald S. Dancer Passes Away at 73
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 Up and Running in New Jersey and Nationwide
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...
NJAMHAA Pres./CEO Hails FY23 Budget for Ability to Increase Quality of Life for Diverse Communities
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...
National 988 Crisis Line Goes Live, NJ Works toward a Comprehensive 988 Crisis Response System
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
...
Study Suggests Expansion of Take-Home Methadone Did Not Contribute to Methadone-Involved Overdoses
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...
State Budget and Introduced Legislation Aim to Expand and Strengthen Behavioral Healthcare Workforce
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...
Sen. Booker and colleagues Urge Biden Administration to Remove Cannabis’ Schedule I Classification
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...
Medicaid Beneficiary Resource Limits to Return Following End of PHE
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...
New Jersey Prepares to Receive Opioid Settlement Funds this Month
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...
NJ DHS Announces Plans to Provide Free Naloxone for 2022
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...