Expanded Medicaid Will Cover Mental Health, Substance Abuse Treatment

By Andrew Kitchenman (Courtesy of NJ Spotlight)

Some low-income New Jersey residents will be eligible for treatment for drug and alcohol addictions, as well as some mental health services, under the upcoming Medicaid expansion.

But most Medicaid recipients won’t be eligible for the new benefits.

Under the 2010 Affordable Care Act, states that choose to expand Medicaid – known as New Jersey FamilyCare in the state -- must cover these treatments for people who are newly eligible for the program. However, that provision doesn’t apply to those who are already eligible for the program.

Gov. Chris Christie opted to expand Medicaid eligibility to include residents with incomes above the maximum allowed for the state’s General Assistance program, or $2,520 per year for a single person who isn’t disabled, but below 138 percent of the federal poverty line, which is currently $15,415 for a single person.

This is expected to provide insurance for 104,000 newly covered adults, according to Rutgers Center for State Health Policy estimates. In addition, outreach efforts tied to the Medicaid expansion and the new federal health insurance marketplace or exchange, are expected to draw another 130,000 residents who are already eligible into the program but haven’t enrolled.

The combined 234,000 new recipients will join more than 1 million residents already enrolled in the program.

 Read more at NJSpotlight.com