Medicaid:

Continued From Page 1 important medical care.”

It makes hospitals eligible for matching federal funds. Through a series of steps with the state and federal governments, the program returns almost double the funds to the hospitals to help assure Medicaid patients reliably receive treatment and other health care services.

While not present during that Board meeting, Ocean County Commissioner Virginia E. Haines had brought the proposal to the Board of Commissioners.

She explained “this program is authorized by the County Option Hospital Fee Program Act, enacted by the state in 2018 and later amended in 2021 to support local hospitals in designated

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Amidst the garbage was the “Roster of the Ridiculous,” as COA calls it, which is the most outrageous finds during a beach sweep. Some of these wacky items included asparagus, a car muffler, handlebars from a bike, Legos and more.

COA’s Beach Sweeps are held twice a year with a goal to clean the environment while recording debris for data which helps with federal and state legislation.

COA’s advocacy campaign manager Kari Martin said the data has helped push the state’s ban on single-use plastic bags and high need areas to ensure continued Medicaid access to critical health care services for needy and vulnerable populations.”

Haines. “Simply put, by becoming a part of this program, our participating hospitals will receive about $41 million, almost twice the fee assessed under the program.”

Ocean County is one of 12 eligible counties to join the program and would also receive a future financial benefit of about $2 million annually as a result of participating in it. Under the program, the hospitals will be assessed a fee totaling about $22.7 million to be used as matching funds for the Medicaid program. In return local hospitals will receive about $41 million.

“We had discussions with the hospitals in Ocean County and they are in favor of participating in this program,” Haines said. “The ad- plastic-foam takeout containers, which have decreased nearly 38% since the ban.

According to the report, volunteers removed 5,833 plastic bags; 21,216 straws and 1,689 plastic food containers in 2022.

“We’re able to turn all of that effort into a legacy of information that we can use to change policies and to make the changes that we need to reduce litter that gets into our ocean and into our waterways,” said Cindy Zipf, executive director of Clean Ocean Action. “It’s is not just ugly on the beaches, but as many of you know it’s lethal or harmful to marine life.” ditional funding the hospitals will receive will help cover the costs related to providing quality health care services for low-income individuals and families receiving Medicaid. Participating hospitals all serve Medicaid patients.”

During a recent press conference, COA staff explained that the amount of garbage pulled off New Jersey beaches last year dropped from 2021.

John W. Doll, chief operating officer for RWJBarnabas Health said, “on behalf of our participating hospitals, Community Medical Center, Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus, and the RWJBarnabas Health Behavioral Health Center, RWJBarnabas Health commends the leadership of Ocean County in its evaluation, design and decision to move forward towards the implementation of this innovative program.”

“The County Option Hospital Program enables hospitals within Ocean County to partner with County leadership to optimize Medicaid dollars to better serve our patients and community members. Through this unique partnership the State, County and hospitals are able to improve the NJ Medicaid program through increased reimbursement rates to maintain critical access and hospital services,” Doll added.

Disposable face masks decreased by 40%, disposable wipes also decreased by 40%, and plastic bottle caps and lids dropped 29%. Other items such as e-cigarette cartridges, dog waste bags, and disposable gloves all saw a significant decline.

During the Q&A session, one person questioned the restriction of outdoor balloons. COA said they are currently working to find a sponsor, as balloons and their ribbons are a great threat to seabirds, sea turtles and marine mammals, COA said.

“We really need to change the public awareness about balloons. They’re beautiful. They’re fun, but they’re inside toys or things to be very careful with.,” Zipf said.

Doll thanked Ocean County for their engagement to date and said he looked forward “to the ongoing partnership for the benefit of our Ocean County residents.”

Haines explained, “the purpose of the program is to increase financial resources through the Medicaid program to support local hospitals and to ensure that they continue to provide vital health care services to low-income citizens.”

The ordinance’s second reading and public hearing will be at the Board’s April 19 meeting.

This Year’s Sweep

The press conference relaying last year’s information had another purpose: to bring attention to this year’s clean-up. The Berkeley Township Waterways Commission will be participating in the Clean Ocean Beach Sweep April 1st 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at Dudley Park. All are welcome to help with the clean-up. The township will be there to collect the garbage. If you have a spare bucket laying around you are encouraged to bring it to collect the trash.

If you’d like to be a volunteer in the organization’s 2023 Beach Sweeps, it will be held on April 1 from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. across the Jersey Shore. For a list of locations, visit cleanoceanaction.org/aboutbeachsweeps.

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It didn’t help that some media misreported the “personnel matter” as a “personal matter.”

Superintendent contracts are often five years long.

By law, the Board of Education has to obtain approval from the State Commissioner of Education for an early termination of a superintendent. At 3 p.m. on March 14, on the afternoon of the March meeting, the board was informed that the employment separation was approved by the State commissioner, which was the last roadblock.

Board attorney Marc Toscano said that his official day of retirement will be May 1.

During the meeting there was also discussion about whether the new superintendent would be the leader of the Seaside

Heights district because that was a shared services contract already in place. The explanation was that the contract would remain.

The Board voted to pass this resolution.

Board President Denise Wilson and member Louis Tuminaro abstained but the rest of the board voted in favor.

One parent at the meeting asked the board to include parent input for the superintendent search.