Abandoning the Elderly? Demand Trenton Fix Broken Senior Care System

New Jersey’s senior population is growing rapidly, with over 2.5 million residents expected to be over the age of 60 by 2030 according to recent projections. As more Garden State residents advance in age, demand is rising for services and programs to help this demographic stay healthy, engaged, and independent for as long as possible. Legislation recently introduced in the New Jersey legislature aims to expand assistance to seniors, but its passage is not guaranteed. Concerned citizens should call on their representatives to support this critical bill.

Known as S3495/A4049, the legislation would make key investments in New Jersey’s Pharmaceutical Assistance to the Aged and Disabled (PAAD) program which helps older residents afford prescription medications. Specifically, it would provide those PAAD beneficiaries who do not qualify for Medicare Part D coverage with financial assistance for drug costs in the Medicare Part D coverage gap or “donut hole.” This would ensure hundreds of thousands of middle-income seniors do not experience barriers to accessing essential medications.

The legislation would also expand New Jersey’s successful Lifeline Utility Assistance Program, which offers utility financial aid to both disabled and older consumers. S3495/A4049 would raise the maximum income limits for Lifeline eligibility, allowing thousands more lower-income seniors to qualify for critical help paying their utility bills. For elderly Garden State residents, this could mean the difference between having electricity in their homes or not.

With older Americans more susceptible to illness and on fixed incomes, legislation like S3495/A4049 can grant much-needed relief from the exorbitant costs of utilities, prescriptions, and healthcare. However, despite the undeniable benefits for senior citizens across New Jersey, this bill has yet to pass. Concerned citizens should write or call their local State Senators and Assembly members and urge them to vote “yes” on this legislation.

Beyond S3495/A4049, AARP is also advocating for additional reforms to help seniors in need of long-term care receive services without delay. As they explain, New Jersey’s current long-term care system is broken. Too many seniors in need of in-home health aides, meal delivery, transportation services, and other support cannot readily access or afford these necessary assistance programs. They end up languishing on Medicaid waitlists for months before the help arrives – if it ever does.

Meanwhile, the state's Medicaid approval process drags on, leaving vulnerable older residents without care and often forcing them out of their homes prematurely. Instead of receiving affordable long-term care that Medicaid could fund, these individuals wind up in more expensive, taxpayer-funded nursing home facilities while their applications crawl through the bureaucratic approval process. It's an awful Catch-22 situation that goes against most seniors' wishes to age comfortably and independently at home.

AARP is strongly advocating for updated legislation that would accelerate Medicaid approvals for eligible applicants who require long-term care. By speeding up this process from months to weeks, thousands could immediately begin receiving financial assistance for essential in-home supportive services. Just as critically, quicker access to Medicaid resources would empower more seniors to avoid unwanted nursing home placements and remain living happily in their communities.

Transforming New Jersey's inadequate long-term care infrastructure into one centered on home-based care is a wise investment for the state and a compassionate choice for its aging residents. Expediting Medicaid applications to facilitate this shift simply makes practical and ethical sense. AARP urges Governor Murphy and state legislators to make these decisive reforms a top priority.

With over 2.5 million senior citizens at stake, elected officials in Trenton must take action now to modernize eldercare systems for today’s reality. Passing legislation like S3495/A4049 and expediting Medicaid approvals for at-risk applicants are strong first steps. New Jersey’s growing older population deserves solutions that preserve independence rather than jeopardize it unnecessarily. Concerned citizens should demand that state leaders provide the helping hand seniors need by getting these critical bills passed without further delay.