On Friday, January 25, 2019, the President signed into law the IMPROVE Act (H.R. 7217), which among other things extends the Medicaid Money Follows the Person (MFP) program for three months.
Three months may not seem like much, but here is the larger story. Since 2005, MFP has helped more than 88,000 older adults and people with disabilities transition out of nursing homes and other facilities back to living in their communities. New federal funding for MFP expired in 2016; however, states were able to spend down existing MFP funding through December 2018. (Massachusetts even took it upon itself to continue the program whether or not federal funds ran out.)
The significance of this three month extension (besides the three months in and of itself) is that it keeps federal funding of MFP alive long enough for Congress to re-authorize the program on a more permanent or longer term basis. At least, that is the hope.
Our thanks to all of the people and organizations that advocated for a continuation of the MFP program, including our own National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys.
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