Please Help and Do your Part to Support this Bill S3729
Posted about 1 year ago in Legislation
On Thursday, May 11th, the NJ State Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee will be meeting to vote on S3729 (Codey) https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bill-search/2022/S3729 which provides for coverage of community-based palliative care benefits under Medicaid. As you may know, this same bill was unanimously approved with amendments by the Assembly’s Aging and Senior Services Committee (A5225), chaired by Asw McKnight, and has been referred to the Assembly’s Health Committee, chaired by Asm Conaway.
On behalf of the Goals of Care Coalition of NJ, we intend to testify in support of S3729 on Thursday and encourage you to please submit a slip of support. You can register your position at the State House Annex, Committee Room 1, First Floor in Trenton on 5/11 before 1 pm. If you are interested in testifying, please let us know as soon as possible as we would like to try and coordinate messaging so as not to repeat one another.
If you can’t attend in person but want to express your support, please click on the link below and provide the required information to make your support known (Sender Email Address, Email Subject, Message). You can type a message of your own or feel free to cut and paste the few sentences that we drafted on your behalf. Thank you in advance for taking a moment to express your support and PLEASE share this email with your colleagues/networks. Whether in person or in writing, these expressions of support carry significant weight with legislators and can help ensure access to community-based palliative care for the most vulnerable in NJ!
Many thanks,
Lori
https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/committees/senate-committees/contact?committee=SHH
Email Subject:
Support for S3729 (Codey); Provides for coverage of community-based palliative care benefits under Medicaid
Message:
Dear Members of the NJ Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee,
I am writing to express my strong support for Bill S3729, which seeks to provide coverage of community-based palliative care benefits under Medicaid. I believe that this bill is critical to ensuring that all individuals with serious illness, regardless of their income level, have access to high-quality palliative care services that can help improve their quality of life and alleviate unnecessary suffering.
Palliative care is a proven and effective strategy to reduce disease burden and improve both the quality and cost of care for people with serious illness. Unfortunately, utilization of palliative care outside the hospital setting in NJ is low, and because our Medicaid program doesn’t offer a palliative care benefit, access for our most vulnerable people with serious illness remains a significant challenge.
I urge to you support Bill S3729 that would address this issue by requiring Medicaid to cover community-based palliative care. This would help to ensure that our most vulnerable people with serious illness have access to the palliative care services they need to manage their symptoms, improve their quality of life, and achieve their goals of care.
Thank you for your attention to this important issue.
Lori Feldstein
CEO & Executive Director
Goals of Care Coalition of New Jersey
(609) 468-4882