The New Jersey state legislature avoided a government shutdown when Governor Murphy signed the proposed budget into law late Sunday, July 1. The approved budget sets the state fee-for-service rate at $19.00 per hour and establishes a rate floor, which requires MCOs to reimburse home health care providers at no less than $16.00 an hour for personal care services.

GAO is continuing to work closely with legislators to further clarify the Personal Care Assistant (PCA) increase, which passed last year (A320). This clarification will address the direct and indirect costs that were overlooked by Governor Christie’s conditional veto last session. For more information, don’t hesitate to reach out to [email protected].