30:4J-19 Outreach, Enrollment, and Retention Working Group.

27. The Commissioner of Human Services shall establish an Outreach, Enrollment, and Retention Working Group to develop a plan to carry out ongoing and sustainable measures to strengthen outreach to low and moderate income families who may be eligible for Medicaid, NJ FamilyCare, or NJ FamilyCare Advantage, to maximize enrollment in these programs, and to ensure retention of enrollees in these programs.

a. The members of the working group shall include:

(1) The Commissioners of Human Services, Health, Banking and Insurance, Labor and Workforce Development, Education, and Community Affairs, and the Secretary of Agriculture, or their designees, who shall serve ex officio; and

(2) Six public members appointed by the Commissioner of Human Services who shall include: one person who represents racial and ethnic minorities in this State; one person who represents managed care organizations that participate in the Medicaid and NJ FamilyCare programs; one person who represents the vendor under contract with the Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services to provide NJ FamilyCare eligibility, enrollment, and health benefit coordinator services to the division; one person who represents New Jersey Policy Perspective; one person who represents the Advocates for Children of New Jersey; and one person who represents Legal Services of New Jersey.

b. As part of the plan, the working group shall:

(1) determine if there are obstacles to enrollment of minorities in the State in the Medicaid, NJ FamilyCare, and NJ FamilyCare Advantage programs due to ethnic and cultural differences and, if so, develop strategies for the Department of Human Services to overcome these obstacles and increase enrollment among minorities;

(2) recommend outreach strategies to identify and enroll all eligible children in the Medicaid, NJ FamilyCare, and NJ FamilyCare Advantage programs and to retain enrollment of children and their parents in the programs;

(3) establish monthly enrollment goals for the number of children who need to be enrolled in Medicaid, NJ FamilyCare, and NJ FamilyCare Advantage in order to ensure that as many children as possible who are eligible for these programs are enrolled within a reasonable period of time, in accordance with the mandate established pursuant to section 2 of P.L.2008, c.38 (C.26:15-2); and

(4) make such other recommendations to the Commissioner of Human Services as the working group determines necessary and appropriate to achieve the purposes of this section.

c. The working group shall organize as soon as practicable following the appointment of its members and shall select a chairperson and vice-chairperson from among the members. The chairperson shall appoint a secretary who need not be a member of the working group.

(1) The public members shall serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties and within the limits of funds available to the working group.

(2) The working group shall be entitled to call to its assistance and avail itself of the services of the employees of any State, county, or municipal department, board, bureau, commission, or agency as it may require and as may be available to it for its purposes.

d. Upon completion of the plan, the working group shall report on its activities to the chairperson of the Senate and Assembly standing reference committees on health and human services, and include a copy of the plan and any recommendations for legislative action it deems appropriate.

e. The Commissioner of Human Services shall post the plan on the department's Internet website and include a table showing the monthly enrollment goals established in the plan and the actual new and continued enrollments for that month. The commissioner shall update the table monthly.

f. The Department of Human Services shall provide staff support to the working group.

L.2008, c.38, s.27; amended 2012, c.17, s.397.