NJ Proposes to Readopt N.J.A.C. 8:42 Licensing Standards for Home Health Agencies

NEW JERSEY—The Division of Certificate of Need and Licensing within the Health Systems Branch of the New Jersey Department of Health (Department), with the approval of the Health Care Administration Board, proposed to readopt N.J.A.C. 8:42 Licensing Standards for Home Health Agencies, with amendments, repeals, and new rules. The proposal was posted to the State of New Jersey Department of Health website on Aug. 21. 

N.J.A.C. 8:42 establishes licensing standards for home health agencies, which provide preventive, rehabilitative and therapeutic services to patients in their homes or residences.

Noteworthy among other proposed revisions to the chapter are:

• The addition of definitions of the terms, “advanced practice nurse” and “physician assistant” and procedures by which these health care professionals can order home health care services for their patients, consistent with the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act, enacted by Congress in March 2020, in response to the coronavirus pandemic;
• The addition of definitions of the terms, “occupational therapy assistant” and “physical therapy assistant” and procedures by which these health care professionals can assist occupational therapists and physical therapists in providing patient rehabilitation services;
• The addition of procedures by which home health agencies can provide patient care by means of telehealth services, in addition to, and not in lieu of, direct patient care; and
• The revision of the tuberculosis testing requirements for home health agency personnel to be consistent with the updated recommendations for tuberculosis screening, testing, and treatment of United States health care personnel, issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Notice of Proposal appears in the August 21, 2023, issue of the New Jersey Register. Persons wishing to comment on the proposal must submit written comments either (1) electronically by ‎Oct, ‎20‎, ‎2023, to www.nj.gov/health/legal/ecomments.shtml; or (2) by regular mail postmarked on or before ‎Oct. ‎20‎, ‎2023, to Joy L. Lindo, director, Office of Legal and Regulatory Compliance, New Jersey Department of Health, PO Box 360, Trenton, NJ 08625-0360.

LexisNexis provides free online access to the New Jersey Register at lexisnexis.com/hottopics/njoal. An unofficial copy of the Notice of Proposal to readopt N.J.A.C. 8:42 Licensing Standards for Home Health Agencies, with amendments, repeals and new rules, is available on the Department’s website at nj.gov/health/legal/rules.