Situation Report | September 28, 2020
The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced that state-operated Money Follows the Person (MFP) demonstration programs are eligible to receive up to $5 million in supplemental funding to help transition individuals with disabilities and older adults from institutions and nursing facilities to home and community-based settings (HCBS).
New York and 32 other states are eligible to participate in the $165 million effort.
According to CMS, each state is eligible to receive up to $5 million. Funds could be used for planning and capacity building activities, including which additional HCBS providers and/or services are needed, as well as: provider and worker recruitment; education, training, technical assistance, and quality improvement activities; assessing and implementing changes to reimbursement rates and payment methodologies; building Medicaid-housing partnerships for affordable and accessible housing; and diversion strategies to prevent nursing facility admission.
States could also use this funding to support HCBS planning and capacity building activities in direct response to the COVID-19 public health emergency, such as to plan and implement the use of telehealth for nursing facility transition activities that would normally be conducted in-person or to redesign service delivery models to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection among MFP participants.
HCA continues to press the federal and state government to allow providers to utilize and expand telehealth services for home care and hospice providers.
HCA will continue to follow this development closely and will communicate additional information to providers when more information becomes available.
In the meantime, please visit the MFP website to learn more about this funding opportunity.