New Jersey § 52:27d-29

§ 52:27d-29.

The Legislature finds and declares that: New Jersey home health agencies are reporting

increased denials of reimbursement for Medicare home-based skilled nursing care by

fiscal intermediaries of the federal Health Care Financing Administration; these

home health care cutbacks are particularly serious in the context of national efforts

to reduce hospital utilization; patients are leaving the hospital earlier and sicker,

and need appropriate follow-up care; and the principal source of post-acute home

health care for the elderly and disabled should be the Medicare program. The Legislature further finds and declares that: recent reductions in Medicare home

health benefits and other Medicare services may have been made through federal directives

to fiscal intermediaries without public review and comment; in some cases benefits

are denied in violation of federal law and regulations and, therefore, a program of

legal assistance to aid New Jersey Medicare beneficiaries in appealing such denials

should be established.