A snapshot of Money Follows the Person Initiative: a program of the Georgia Department of Community Health [Jan. 2011]

A Program Of The Georgia Department Of Community Health
A SNAPSHOT OF
Money Follows the Person Initiative
Overview
The Money Follows the Person Initiative (MFP) began as a five-year grant award to shift Medicaid Long-Term Care from its emphasis on institutional care to home and community-based services. In 2005, before Georgia received the MFP grant, the state's long-term care expenditures were $1.5 billion, with 70% expended on institutional longterm care, and 30% expended on home and community-based services. The goal of the MFP grant is to increase the percentage for home and community-based services to just over 40% by the end of the grant or December 2011. Through MFP, Georgia has achieved 2% growth in annual spending on home and community-based services. The MFP grant opportunity was made available as part of the Federal Deficit Reduction Act of Fiscal Year 2006. Georgia's grant of over $36 million in federal funds will operate through December 31, 2011. Through recent health care reform, Georgia will now be able to access additional funds to continue the grant through 2016.
Georgia's MFP Project
MFP is a joint effort between the Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH), the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD) and the Georgia Department of Human Services Division of Aging Services (DHS/DAS) to transition 618 Georgians over four years from institutional settings to the community through Georgia's waiver programs, which include: the Independent Care Waiver Program (ICWP), the Service Options Using Resources in a Community Environment program (SOURCE), the Community Care Service Program (CCSP), and the New Options (NOW) and Comprehensive Waiver Programs (COMP).
Eligible persons include those who have lived in a nursing facility or institution for at least three months and whose care has been covered by Medicaid in the month preceding their transition to home and communitybased services Members must continue to meet institutional level of care criteria after transitioning to the community Target populations include older adults, adults and children with physical disabilities and/or brain injuries and adults and children with developmental disabilities MFP includes 15 new transition services to assist institutional members in resettling in the community. These services include one-time purchases of basic household items and furnishings, utility deposits, security deposits, transportation to assist in housing searches and limited funding for home environmental modifications. Most of these new transition services will be eligible for an enhanced federal match. In most cases, this enhanced match will reduce Georgia's share to less than 20 percent Through MFP, the state will establish a seamless information and referral process, transition coordinators, support services to ease transition, transition peer counselors and increased availability of affordable housing and transportation
MFP Transitions
Beginning September 1, 2008, eligible persons started transitioning into the community. As of July 31, 2010, 340 individuals had successfully transitioned back into their homes and communities through MFP.
For more information about the program, please contact RL Grubbs at 404-657-9323, or e-mail him at gamfp@dch.ga.gov. You can also visit our website at dch.georgia.gov/mfp.
2 Peachtree Street, Atlanta, Ga 30303 w www.dch.georgia.gov
January 2011