How to start a hospice in New Jersey

New Jersey requires a Hospice care program license (with optional inpatient hospice care unit) from New Jersey Department of Health, Office of Certificate of Need and Healthcare Facility Licensure to operate a hospice. Fee: In addition to the licensure/renewal fee, inspection fees are due at initial licensure and every two years at renewal: hospice $1,000; each inpatient hospice care unit site $1,500. Non-payment blocks initial licensure or renewal. The base licensure fee amount was not captured.

License required

Yes

License

Hospice care program license (with optional inpatient hospice care unit)

Issuing agency

New Jersey Department of Health, Office of Certificate of Need and Healthcare Facility Licensure

Fee

In addition to the licensure/renewal fee, inspection fees are due at initial licensure and every two years at renewal: hospice $1,000; each inpatient hospice care unit site $1,500. Non-payment blocks initial licensure or renewal. The base licensure fee amount was not captured.

Medicare certification

Medicare certification is separate from the state license (state survey or CMS-approved accreditor). CMS imposed a nationwide 6-month moratorium on new Medicare hospice enrollments (including new practice locations) effective 2026-05-13, extendable in 6-month increments; applications received by the Medicare contractor before that date are still processed, accreditation cannot be used for deemed-status entry during the moratorium, and a hospice undergoing a non-exempt ownership change within 36 months of enrollment must re-enroll as new and is therefore blocked. The federal notice leaves Medicaid/CHIP hospice moratoria to each state.

Regulation

N.J.A.C. 8:42C (Standards for Licensure of Hospice Care Programs)

1. Apply to the Office of Certificate of Need and Healthcare Facility Licensure for a hospice license
2. Pay the licensure fee plus the $1,000 hospice inspection fee (and $1,500 per inpatient unit site)
3. Pass the licensure inspection
4. Renew, paying inspection fees biennially

Program

NJ FamilyCare / New Jersey Medicaid (Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services, NJ Department of Human Services)

Enrollment portal

NJMMIS.com Provider Enrollment Applications (downloadable packages by provider type)

Fiscal agent

Gainwell Technologies

Application fee

Some provider types must pay an application fee unless they paid one recently. Proof of a fee paid to Medicare or another state's Medicaid program in the past 5 years can be attached instead. Otherwise the payment goes to the NJ Division of Revenue lockbox with the application. Under the federal rule (42 CFR 455.460), institutional providers pay the CMS application fee when they first enroll, re-enroll or revalidate. The fee is $750 for calendar year 2026. Individual physicians and non-physician practitioners do not pay it. A fee already paid to Medicare or to another state's Medicaid program counts.

Fingerprinting

Under federal rules (42 CFR 455.434 and 455.450), the state places provider types in 'limited', 'moderate' or 'high' risk levels. High-risk providers, and anyone who owns 5% or more of one, must submit fingerprints for a criminal background check. The NJMMIS enrollment pages we reviewed do not describe a separate state fingerprinting process.

Site visit

Under federal rule (42 CFR 455.432), the state must visit moderate- and high-risk providers before and after enrollment. Every enrolled provider must allow unannounced on-site inspections. The NJMMIS enrollment pages we reviewed do not describe a separate state site visit process.

Revalidation

New Jersey revalidates providers every five years under the ACA. To revalidate, file the full enrollment package for your provider type with the Revalidation Cover Page on top; requests without the cover page are not processed. Signatures can be electronic. Send it by secure email, fax or mail to the Gainwell Provider Revalidation Unit. If you don't return the package, claims may be pended or denied. Revalidation Unit: 1-833-909-1522. Federal rule (42 CFR 455.414) requires the state to revalidate every enrolled provider at least once every 5 years.

Full New Jersey Medicaid enrollment guide →

CON program

Yes

Program

Certificate of Need (full review and Expedited Review, ERCN)

Agency

New Jersey Department of Health, Certificate of Need and Healthcare Facility Licensure; State Health Planning Board advises the Commissioner on full-review applications

Services covered

• long-term care (general, ventilator, pediatric)
• rehabilitation beds
• psychiatric beds
• new general hospitals and children's hospitals
• transfer of ownership of a general hospital
• maternal and child health, pediatric intensive care
• transplantation, burn centers, trauma units, mobile intensive care units
• home health
• new assisted living facilities
• hospital sub-acute unit capacity changes
• establishment, capacity, scope, location or cost changes and major moveable equipment for covered facilities (often expedited)

New Jersey certificate of need details →

State minimum wage

$15.92 an hour

Effective

2026-01-01

Scheduled increases

Rises to $16.48 on 2027-01-01 for most employers; $16.25 for seasonal and small employers; $15.00 for agricultural workers.

Direct-care wage floor

Long-term care facility direct care staff must be paid $3.00/hour above the standard state minimum wage ($18.92 in 2026); this rises to $19.48 on 2027-01-01.

HCBS 80/20 rule

Federal baseline: 42 CFR 441.302(k) requires the state to show that each provider spends at least 80% of Medicaid payments for homemaker, home health aide and personal care services under 1915(c) waivers on direct care worker pay and benefits. Compliance starts 2030-07-09 (for managed care, the first rating period starting on or after that date); annual payment-adequacy reporting under 441.311(e) starts 2028-07-09. A state may set a lower share for state-defined small providers and exempt providers facing hardship, each only through a public notice-and-comment process. The eCFR text has not changed since 2024-07-09. No state-published 80/20 implementation step (small-provider criteria, hardship exemption or reporting guidance) was found for this state in the official sources reviewed.

Hospice agencies (community based) — active organization NPIs (NPPES)

230 (as of Sep 13, 2026)

Medicare-certified hospices (CMS Care Compare)

61 (as of Aug 19, 2026)

Total Medicaid and CHIP enrollment (latest reported month)

1,725,496 (as of Jun 1, 2026)

All New Jersey Hospice Medicaid rates, ranked →