On September 16, 2020, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed into law four bills responding to the COVID-19 crisis within the state’s nursing homes. The reforms will provide wage increases for nursing home workers and, critically, establish a first-in-the-nation medical loss ratio for nursing homes, requiring that long-term care (LTC) facilities invest at least 90% of revenues in direct care services, rather than administrative costs or profits. The bills will also create a state LTC task force to consider longer term reforms.

These reforms closely follow the recommendations laid out in Manatt Health’s landmark report on the state of New Jersey’s nursing home system. Launched on May 6 and led by Manatt Health partner Cindy Mann and special advisor Carol Raphael, the study outlined recommendations on how the state and LTC facilities could move forward with confidence to reopen for new residents and visitors after the current COVID-19 outbreak. Mann also summarized these findings in a testimony before New Jersey Assembly’s Aging and Senior Services Committee and Military and Veterans’ Affairs Committee.

For more information on the LTC reforms in New Jersey, click here.