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Short-Term Money Follows the Person Extension and Spousal Impoverishment Protections Pass House

In an eleventh-hour legislative effort, lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill, the IMPROVE Act (H.R. 7217), that would provide a three-month reauthorization of the Medicaid Money Follows the Person (MFP) program and a short-term extension of spousal impoverishment protections for Medicaid HCBS recipients. While modest in length, these extensions still represent progress.

n4a supports both bipartisan proposals, and has advocated for a long-term extension of MFP, which officially expired in September 2016—although states have been able to spend MFP grants through the end of December 2018. n4a and its allies are now focused on encouraging action in the Senate on both of these proposals before the 115th congressional session ends next week. Should the Senate pass MFP and spousal impoverishment protections before Members adjourn, advocates will be focused on securing longer-term reauthorizations for both policies early in the 116th Congress. Stay tuned for news from n4a about needed advocacy in the Senate next week!

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