Money Follows the Person: A 2010 Snapshot

With the passage of health reform, the Money Follows the Person (MFP) demonstration grant program was extended five years through 2016 giving states further options to transition Medicaid beneficiaries living in institutions back to the community.

Enacted into law in 2006 as part of the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA), the MFP demonstration provides states with enhanced federal matching funds for twelve months for each Medicaid beneficiary transitioned from an institutional setting to a community-based setting. Twenty-nine states and DC are currently participating in this demonstration program and more states plan to apply for MFP grants in the coming year.

In July 2010, the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured (KCMU) surveyed states about the current status of their MFP program including trends in enrollment, services and per capita spending. The 2010 survey is a follow-up to the 2008 KCMU MFP survey and highlights findings based on responses from twenty-six states.