Money Follows the Person Basics: Who, What, When, Where

Money Follows the Person (MFP) is a Medicaid program that helps qualified individuals leave institutionalized settings and return to living in the community. The institution is usually a nursing home, but it can also be an assisted living residence, a memory care facility for Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias, or any Medicaid-funded institution with constant supervision and on-site skilled care. And MFP beneficiaries can return to the home where they were previously living, or they can move in with a family member or friend, or a group home setting with no more than four unrelated people in the home.

MFP’s benefits are detailed in the next section, but in general the program helps pay for transitional expenses and then helps cover long-term care to ensure the program participant can be safe and healthy living in the community. MFP provides support for one year (365 days), starting from the day the beneficiary leaves the institution. After the year is up, the beneficiary will still be covered by Medicaid, so they will have healthcare coverage and whatever long-term care benefits would normally be available to them, but they will not receive additional support through MFP.

Money Follows the Person Benefits

The transitional assistance MFP can provide includes help finding affordable housing, paying for movers, covering security deposits, paying utility set-up fees and buying essential furniture and appliances. The availability and extent of these benefits can vary by state, but there is a consistent rule across all states – MFP will not cover rent or mortgage payments.

Once the program participant is moved in, MFP can cover some long-term care services and supports that will help the senior live comfortably in their new home. These can also vary by state, but in general they include:

• Personal care assistance with the Activities of Daily Living (mobility, bathing, dressing/grooming, eating, toileting)
• Homemaker services (shopping, cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc.)
• In-home nursing care
• Adult day care
• Meal delivery
• Home modifications for safety and accessibility
• Vehicle modifications
• Respite care for unpaid caregivers
• Assistive technology

MFP beneficiaries may experience a wait before receiving some of their benefits, depending on the state. That could be due to a lack of funds, or limited space in the Medicaid program the state is using to provide MFP benefits.

Consumer Directed Care

Some states give program participants the option to self-direct certain MFP benefits. This can include beneficiaries selecting caregivers of their choice to provide some benefits, most notably personal care assistance and homemaker services. These caregivers can be family members, such as adult children, and in some states that can even be spouses. In many cases, these family members are already providing care, but they’re not being paid for it.

Eligibility Requirements

There are four basic eligibility requirements for Money Follows the Person applicants:

1. They must be enrolled in Medicaid. There are three Medicaid long-term care programs relevant to seniors – Nursing Home Medicaid, Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) Waivers and Aged, Blind and Disabled (ABD) Medicaid. Most MFP beneficiaries will be enrolled in Nursing Home Medicaid. However, some seniors enrolled in HCBS Waivers or ABD Medicaid may live in a Medicaid-funded institution and wish to return to the community, and they could potentially use MFP. The eligibility criteria for these Medicaid programs can vary dramatically by state, but in general individuals must have less than $2,000 in assets and less than $2,901/month in income to qualify. Learn more about eligibility criteria.

2. They must have resided in a Medicaid-funded institution for a minimum of 60 consecutive days.

3. They must need a Nursing Facility Level of Care (NFLOC). In general this means the kind of 24/7 care and supervision associated with nursing homes, but the exact definition of a NFLOC and how it’s evaluated can change depending on the state.

4. They must express a desire to return to the community and be able to move into one of the MFP-qualified settings mentioned above – their own home, the home of a loved one or a small group home with no more than four unrelated residents.

States with Money Follows the Person

The states listed below currently have MFP programs. If the program has a unique name in that state, it’s listed in parentheses. It should be noted that MFP can also be referred to as “Money Follows the Person Rebalancing Programs” and “Money Follows the Person Demonstration Programs.” And it’s worth noting that while Tennessee has MFP, it’s intended for people with disabilities and not seniors.

• Alabama (Gateway to Community Living)
• Arkansas
• California (California Community Transitions)
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Georgia
• Hawaii
• Idaho (Idaho Home Choice)
• Indiana
• Iowa (The Partnership for Community Integration Project)
• Kansas
• Kentucky (Kentucky Transitions)
• Louisiana (My Place Louisiana)
• Maine (Homeward Bound)
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Minnesota (Moving Home Minnesota)
• Missouri
• Montana
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey (I Choose Home)
• New York (Open Doors)
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Ohio (HOME Choice)
• Oklahoma (Living Choice)
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island (The Rhode to Home)
• South Carolina (Home Again)
• South Dakota
• Texas
• Vermont
• Washington (Roads to Community Living)
• Washington, D.C.
• West Virginia (Take Me Home)
• Wisconsin

How to Apply

To apply for MFP, there must be a “referral” to the state’s local MFP contact agency. This isn’t like a referral from a primary care provider to a specialist, it’s simply a communication with the local contact agency stating that a Medicaid beneficiary would like to apply for the MFP program. The referral can be made by the individual themselves, family members, or healthcare professionals like the nursing home staff or a primary care provider. Referrals are usually made via phone or email, and some states offer online referral portals.

Local contact agencies can be Area Agencies on Aging (AAA), Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRCs), independent living centers or simply the local Medicaid agency itself. To locate MFP contact agencies in any particular state, reach out to the Medicaid offices in that state, or the MFP project director. And even if they are not the MFP contact agency, the local Area Agency on Aging may be able to offer useful advice.

How a Medicaid Planner Can Help

Our Certified Medicaid Planners can offer insight and guidance when it comes Money Follows the Person. They know which states are likely to have waitlists and how long those waits might last. They can tell you which benefits are available in your area and what agencies provide them. They will know if you can use Consumer Directed Care and what options that might provide.

They also understand the MFP application process. Every state uses local contact agencies to handle their MFP applications, but which agencies depends on where you live. In your area it might be an Area Agency on Aging, an Aging and Disability Resource Center, an independent living center or maybe it’s the state Medicaid agency. Not only will our planning professionals at Eldercare Resource Planning know the right agency to contact in your area, they’ll know the best way to contact them, who to contact within the agency and what to say.

If a senior is fortunate enough to be able to leave a nursing home and go back home, money or Medicaid rules should not stand in their way. Money Follows the Person can help them live where they want with the care they need.