Throughout New Jersey, the State and many partner organizations are working to keep as many people covered as possible. This month, the Quality Institute is releasing education sessions, materials, and resources to support this work – with a focus on key groups across the health care system that interact with New Jersey residents as they navigate the changes and take steps to stay enrolled in NJ FamilyCare. We will also include materials on where people can obtain care when they are no longer insured. Our work is in partnership with the New Jersey Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services and generously supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Burke Foundation.

H.R. 1 created new eligibility requirements and more frequent reenrollment rules. Together, these changes may cause an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 people in New Jersey to lose health insurance coverage. Some will no longer qualify under the new rules, and others who qualify may lose coverage anyway because they were unable to navigate the more onerous and frequent reenrollment process.

We’re launching this effort to keep New Jersey’s health care community coordinated, informed, and heard as the federal requirements roll out.

Our Process and What to Expect

We’re starting with a round of interviews with priority stakeholders across the state: hospitals, managed care organizations, federally qualified health centers, community-based organizations, and the regional health hubs, many of whom are doing similar work that we want to align with to ensure consistent messages. Those conversations will directly shape the series of webinars and resources we are building for these groups to help people stay covered. If your organization would like to connect with us, please email Sarah Wolf.

From there, we will:

• Host a series of stakeholder webinars starting September 24 at noon, focused on helping people stay covered, navigate exceptions, and follow documentation requirements. The webinars will continue for several months, will be updated with new information as available, and customized for different audiences.

• Host weekly office hours on Thursdays, 1-2 pm, for priority stakeholder organizations with input or needs, to start October 1^st. Access through this Zoom link.

• Build and share materials and resources for organizations to use and adapt for their own staff, networks, partners, and patients.
• Flag, triage, and answer stakeholder issues as they arise.  To submit, send to HR1feedback@njhcqi.org.
• Share common concerns with NJ FamilyCare, as we hear of common or frequent issues from stakeholders, we’ll raise them with the people making the implementation decisions.
• Disseminate information broadly, to reach as many people as possible.

What We Need From You

This effort depends on members and partners sharing information and providing feedback. Here’s what you can do:

• Attend a webinar and share the invitation or recording with others. The webinars and resources are designed to provide quick and easy-to-understand guidance to help answer complex questions. The first webinar is on September 24 at noon.
• Tell us what you’re seeing. If a rule, a system, or a timeline is creating problems for your patients or your operations, let us know. We’ll track these issues and share them with the State to help find solutions.
• Use and share the materials. If something we put together is useful, pass it to colleagues who aren’t yet connected to this effort.

By working together to strengthen the NJ FamilyCare enrollment process and outreach materials, we can keep more people enrolled and able to access care.  Please join us in this important effort.