FY2025-Annual-Report

NJAMHAA Annual Report FY 2025 11 Sober Living Homes: Successfully advocated for a conditional veto of a bill requiring 24/7 supervisors in sober living homes, preventing potential closures due to staffing costs. Medicaid Managed Care When it comes to policy wins, none may match the ultimate importance of NJAMHAA’s successes in informing the design and implementation of the carve-in of mental health and substance use disorder outpatient (clinic and partial care/hospitalization) services into managed care. Early on, NJAMHAA was successful in securing several impactful policies, including Medicaid rates as an initial floor and automatic prior authorizations and claims payments during the transition period. Since implementation began on January 1, 2025, several other policy changes have been secured, including: T he Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment (CIWA) and Clinical Opiate Withdrawal Scale (COWS) have been requirements for all outpatient clients. This was a major issue as each assessment can only be performed by a Registered Nurse. Without a COWS or CIWA, providers were unable to submit authorization requests via the New Jersey Substance Abuse Monitoring System (NJSAMS). Subsequent to NJAMHAA’s advocacy, an option to select “Not Assessed” to all questions referencing these assessments was added. This allows providers to complete the fields without actually performing the screenings. O f major importance was the extension of the carve-in transition period that moved the end date from March 31st to June 30th. In late February, it was apparent that billing, authorization, communication, and managed care organization (MCO) portal issues, among others, were substantial and the extension was granted on February 25th. NJAMHAA is aware of many issues that have yet to be resolved and will continue to advocate for further extension of the transition policies. NJAMHAA’s reputation and the relationships it has established have provided multiple avenues for resolving the issues our members face with the carve- in, licensing and telehealth and in many other areas. NJAMHAA will continue to address all challenges that members are facing head on, with ongoing advocacy that is broad in its reach. Another impactful legislative win was realized in May 2025. A bill that would have required all sober living homes to employ supervisors that would have to be present 24/7 passed both houses and was sent to Governor Murphy for signature in March. Most recovery homes would not have been able to afford such staffing, and many would have closed their doors if this provision had been signed into law. NJAMHAA was able to schedule a meeting with the Governor’s office in late April and, joined by several NJAMHAA members, put forth a request for a conditional veto to eliminate the staffing provision. Subsequently, Governor Murphy issued a conditional veto that did just that. The new version of the bill was signed into law on June 3, 2025.