New Jersey Department of Human Services Acting Commissioner James W. Smith today urged NJ FamilyCare beneficiaries to respond to annual renewal notices requesting information needed to determine if they still qualify for the state-sponsored healthcare plan. These regular reviews are done to make certain only eligible people are receiving benefits.

The Department is most concerned about some 4,700 families, or about 15,000 adults and children, who were among the first to enroll in NJ FamilyCare in November and December, 2000 and who have not responded to four separate requests for information mailed to them since last August. The information was requested as part of an annual renewal process intended to determine whether there have been any changes in income or family size that might affect beneficiaries’ eligibility for the program. A final letter will be mailed soon to these families and if they don’t respond they could be dropped from the program by Feb. 1.

The federal government, which helps fund the program, requires such reviews to be done regularly. State regulations specify that the reviews should be done annually. They have been done for beneficiaries of this program since it began as NJ KidCare in 1998. This is the first year the reviews affect adults, who were added to the program when it expanded to NJ FamilyCare in 2001.

"We are making a last ditch effort to reach people who enrolled in this program when it first opened up to include all family members and who have not responded to the many letters we have sent them," said Smith. "We believe that many of these beneficiaries have found health insurance through an employer, have moved out of state or have some other reason for no longer being interested in NJ FamilyCare. But we don’t want to take the step of terminating a family’s health insurance without giving them every possible opportunity to provide the information we requested."

The renewal process began in August when information packets were mailed to almost 5,500 families due for renewal in November. In September, the same information was mailed to approximately 5,000 families due for renewal in December. Three additional reminder notices were mailed to all of the families and 3,600 families also received follow-up phone calls. Information packets and reminder notices are being mailed on a similar schedule to approximately 15,000 families due for renewal in January, February and March.

Parents are eligible for NJ FamilyCare if their family income is no higher than 200 percent of the federal poverty level, or $35,300 for a family of four. Children are eligible if their family income is no higher 350 percent of the federal poverty level, or $61,775 for a family of four.

Beneficiaries who believe they are at risk of being terminated from the program and require assistance or additional information should call 1-800-701-0710.