States will soon be able to apply for additional Money Follows the Person funds, which are designed to support Home and Community Based Services (HCBS). Older adults prefer to stay in their homes as long as possible. Couple this preference with the fact that the demographics of the U.S. are continually growing older, and it is a certainty that demand for HCBS will increase tremendously.
The MFP funding was originally part of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. The legislation allotted $1.75 billion in funding to expand states’ use of home- and community-based services through the end of FY 2011. The recent healthcare reform law extends this program through 2016, providing an additional $450 million per year for state Medicaid programs to help transition Medicaid patients out of long-term care facilities and back into the community.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will post a grant solicitation in late July to offer states not currently participating the opportunity to apply for an MFP Demonstration Program Grant through a competitive award process, according to a June 22 letter from CMS to states.