HHS, CMS Expand State Funding for Medicaid’s Money Follows the Person Program

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced $25 million in planning grants to expand the Medicaid’s Money Follows the Person (MFP) demonstration program, which increases home and community-based services access for older adults and people with disabilities.

MFP has helped facilitate more than 107,000 transitions out of institutional settings since 2008, according to a CMS report. Since its inception in 2006, the program has provided more than $4 billion to improve transitions from facilities for patients who would rather live at home or in a community.

This latest round of grants extends the program to 5 new states and territories, awarding up to $5 million to Illinois, Kansas, New Hampshire, American Samoa, and Puerto Rico to support early planning for their respective MFP programs.

Early planning for MFP programs can include running system assessments, developing new transition programs, establishing home and community-based service quality improvement programs, and recruiting providers to assist with and coordinate transitions. An important component during the early stages of implementing this program is also establishing partnerships with community stakeholders, especially those in historically diverse or underserved populations.

These states and territories join a list of more than 40 states now participating in the MFP program which receives funding via the Biden administration’s American Rescue Plan.

“The administration estimates that this change will ultimately result in $25 billion in increased funding,” explained HHS in a press release, “allowing states to develop innovative ways to address existing HCBS workforce and structural issues, expand the capacity of critical services, and begin to meet the needs of people with disabilities, family caregivers, and providers.”

HHS announced in June 2022 that states have through March 25, 2025 to use the grant funding provided.

Reference:
US Department of Health and Human Services. HHS expands home and community-based services in five new states and territories for older adults and people with disabilities [news release]. August 22, 2022. https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2022/08/22/hhs-expands-home-and-community-based-services-in-five-new-states-and-territories-for-older-adults-and-people-with-disabilities.html