Forty-three states have received federal funding to help transfer Medicaid beneficiaries from nursing homes to their communities, a new analysis finds.
The Money Follows the Person demonstration program, which was started five years ago and was expanded under the Affordable Care Act, had successfully transferred a total of 17,000 residents back into their communities as of Aug. 11, 2011, according to an analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured.
The majority of those who went back to the community are elderly or have physical disabilities, according to the report. Almost half of the transitions took place in three states: Ohio, Texas and Washington.
The report’s authors concluded that MFP is critical to changing the way long-term services and supports are delivered.
“However, as more Medicaid beneficiaries are identified to transition to the community, and as the population continues to age, more attention to workforce and housing options will be important to help facilitate successful community placements,” the report states.
Click here to read the report. Click here for a case study of Georgia’s MFP program, and here for a case study of Ohio’s program.
