Five Additional States, Territories Join Medicaid’s Money Follows the Person Program

HHS this week awarded approximately $25 million in planning grants to 5 new states and territories to expand access to home and community-based services (HCBS) through Medicaid’s Money Follows the Person (MFP) demonstration program.

The new grants bring the total of states and territories participating in MFP to 41. The awards of up to $5 million are for Illinois, Kansas, and New Hampshire, as well as for American Samoa and Puerto Rico.

MFP began in 2008. Through the end of 2020, states have transitioned more than 107,000 people to community living under MFP. More than 85% of people who used Medicaid long-term services and supports in 2019 received HCBS rather than institutional services, according to a recent report. Thus far, MFP has provided states with more than $4 billion to support individuals who choose to transition out of institutions and back into their communities.

The awards announced this week will support the early planning phase for their MFP programs. This includes:

• Establishing partnerships with community stakeholders, including those representing diverse and underserved populations, Tribal entities and governments, key state and local agencies, and community-based organizations
• Conducting system assessments to better understand how HCBS support local residents
• Developing community transition programs
• Establishing or enhancing Medicaid HCBS quality improvement programs
• Recruiting HCBS providers as well as expert providers for transition coordination and technical assistance

Through the American Rescue Plan, President Joe Biden temporarily increased Medicaid funding for HCBS, and every state that elected to participate in this program has submitted a plan for how they will use these funds. The administration estimates that this change will ultimately result in $25 billion in increased funding. In June, HHS told states that they now have an additional year (through March 31, 2025) to use the funding.

“We’re putting the full weight of this agency behind solutions that can meet people where they are and help get them to where they want to be when it comes to health care,” said CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure in a statement. “Money Follows the Person has a proven track record of helping seniors and people with disabilities transition safely from institutional care to their own homes and communities. Letting ‘money follow the person’ is key to those successes, and to the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to affordable, accessible, person-centered care.”