Posted on Sunday, January 19, 2020 11:49 PM
NAHC and other like-minded organizations joined together to urge leaders in both of houses of Congress to finally pass the permanent extension of the Money Follows the Person Program (MFP) and Spousal Impoverishment Protections included in the bipartisan Drug Pricing Reduction and Health and Human Services Improvement Act currently under consideration on Capitol Hill.
The Money Follows the Person program funds state Medicaid programs to allow beneficiaries to remain in their own home instead of an institution by allowing for personal care services, transportation and home modifications. It also provides enhanced funding to states to help transition individuals who want to move out of institutional care and back to the community. The enhanced funding states receive assists with the costs of transitioning people back to the community, including identifying and coordinating affordable and accessible housing and providing additional services and supports to make successful transitions. The program has helped over 91,000 people with disabilities and older adults transition back to their communities. Spousal Impoverishment protections were put in place so that the spouses of Medicaid institutional long-term services and supports (LTSS) recipients were able to maintain certain levels of incomes and assets without counting against the Medicaid status of the institutional LTSS receiving spouse. These protections were not allowable in cases of patients receiving home and community- based services. The Affordable Care Act extended these protections to HCBS scenarios, but they were not made permanent and have needed ongoing extensions to continue.
Without an extension, these programs will expire at the end of the year. They are urging Congress to make these programs permanent.
Source: NAHC Report
About Corridor
Corridor is the nation’s preferred partner and trusted business advisor to home health and hospice providers, providing quality services and impactful results for 30 years. Focusing on key operational, regulatory and financial challenges, Corridor delivering industry-unique solutions and deep expertise in coding, clinical documentation review, compliance, billing and collections , consulting and provider staff education . At Corridor, we make the business of caring for people Better! For the most important industry updates and news that impacts home health and hospice, please make sure to sign up for our weekly newsletter to receive the latest up-to-date industry information direct to your inbox!
For additional information, please contact Corridor at 1-866-263-3795.
