The Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee approved legislation today creating a three-year pilot program that would improve healthcare for Medicaid recipients at reduced costs. It is sponsored by Assembly Republicans Vince Polistina and Nancy Muñoz. “This will provide better healthcare for less,” said bill sponsor Assemblyman Vince Polistina, R-Atlantic, a member of the Health committee. “This could revolutionize treatment for the most vulnerable while saving money for government and healthcare providers.”

The bipartisan bill, A-3636, is based on the efforts of Dr. Jeffrey Brenner, a Camden doctor who determined that 1 percent of patients accounted for 30 percent of healthcare costs at the three hospitals in Camden. He realized that these patients often had factors such as poverty, disability, depression or language barriers preventing them from receiving optimal healthcare. Dr. Brenner then used a team including nurse practitioners and social workers for an intensive integrated approach – in the patients homes – to treat their symptoms and change their behaviors.

The approach halved the hospital usage among these patients saving more than $500,000 per month in hospital bills.

“It is possible to have better care and lower bills and I know we can duplicate Dr. Brenner’s success,” said Muñoz, R-Union, Essex, Morris and Somerset, a member of the Health committee. “This pilot will spark the fire to an innovative way of providing healthcare in New Jersey.”

The legislation would create the Medicaid Accountable Care Organization Project in which nonprofit groups could apply to provide healthcare in an area with more than 5,000 Medicaid recipients. Providers that prove they have improved care and saved money would be entitled to gain sharing payments from Medicaid. TLS.