News
Congress Passes Extension for the Money Follows the Person Program
- By: USAging
- On: 01/18/2019 10:38:35
- In: Policy & Advocacy
The IMPROVE Act (H.R. 7217), which now heads to the President for signature, includes a provision extending the Medicaid Money Follows the Person (MFP) program for three months. This short-term patch would help states bridge the current funding gap until Congress hopefully approves a longer authorization.
Since 2005, the MFP program has been instrumental in helping tens of thousands of older adults and people with disabilities transition from institutional settings to the community. New funding for MFP program expired in 2016, although states were able to spend down existing MFP funding until the end of 2018.
Advocates and lawmakers have been working to promote bipartisan bills in both the House and Senate that would provide additional funding for states to continue rebalancing their Medicaid long-term services and supports (LTSS) programs. Since the MFP program began, nearly 90,000 people have used the program to transition from an institutional setting back to their community. Ongoing funding is essential to maintain the MFP program infrastructure in many states. n4a will continue to advocate strongly for a longer-term authorization of MFP. Stay tuned for opportunities for grassroots action!