New Jersey Medicaid Long-Term Care

Last updated: August 21, 2026 Jurisdiction: New Jersey

NJ FamilyCare is New Jersey’s Medicaid program

New Jersey’s public Medicaid program is NJ FamilyCare. The Department of Human Services Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services (DMAHS) administers the state- and federally funded program, including coverage for aged, blind, and disabled people and people who qualify for long-term services and supports (New Jersey DMAHS; NJ FamilyCare overview).

For adults who need long-term care, the key program name is Managed Long Term Services and Supports, or MLTSS. New Jersey describes MLTSS as delivery of long-term services and supports through the NJ FamilyCare managed-care program, rather than a separate conventional fee-for-service nursing-home program (New Jersey MLTSS overview).

MLTSS uses NJ FamilyCare managed-care organizations, also called health plans or HMOs, to coordinate all covered services. The program can cover supports in a person’s home, assisted living, community residential settings, or a nursing home, which is the practical reason the same MLTSS framework appears throughout both institutional-care and home-care planning (New Jersey MLTSS overview).

Eligibility has both financial and clinical parts

For adults age 21 and older, New Jersey says MLTSS eligibility requires both financial requirements and clinical requirements. The clinical standard is nursing-facility level of care: hands-on assistance with three or more listed activities of daily living, or cognitive deficits requiring supervision and cueing with three or more activities of daily living (New Jersey MLTSS clinical criteria).

The state’s 2026 MLTSS application guide says enrollment requires clinical and financial eligibility and directs applicants to a local County Social Service Agency for the financial review. It also says a person does not have to live in a nursing home to apply, which matters for someone seeking services before a crisis forces a facility admission (2026 MLTSS application guidance).

New Jersey’s Division of Aging Services describes Pre-Admission Screening (PAS) as the steps required to attain Medicaid approval for long-term care and says Long Term Care Field Office counselors administer the PAS process statewide. That screening system is relevant when a person is considering either nursing-facility placement or home- and community-based alternatives (New Jersey PAS overview; New Jersey Community Choice).

New Jersey program map: NJ FamilyCare is the Medicaid program; DMAHS administers it; MLTSS is the managed-care long-term-services pathway; and an adult generally needs both financial eligibility and nursing-facility level of care (DMAHS; MLTSS).

Planning takeaway

A New Jersey family should distinguish an initial clinical assessment from the separate financial application and should identify the assigned managed-care plan once enrolled. For the asset, income, trust, transfer, and cost-share rules that sit beside that care-delivery structure, see New Jersey Medicaid Asset Limits and New Jersey Nursing Home Medicaid.

This overview does not decide eligibility or choose a plan. A prospective applicant should use current DMAHS materials and obtain individualized legal or benefits advice before changing income, assets, or residence.

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NJ FamilyCare is New Jersey’s Medicaid program

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