Case Study: Georgia’s Money Follows the Person Demonstration

This brief reports on a case study of Georgia’s Money Follows the Person (MFP) demonstration program, describing key features of the program and highlighting recent program experiences. The Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH) implemented the program in September 2008.

In 2005, before the demonstration began, Georgia’s long-term care expenditures were $1.5 billion, with 70 percent devoted to institutional long-term care and 30 percent on home and community-based services (HCBS). One goal of the demonstration was to increase the share of dollars going toward HCBS to over 40 percent by the end of December 2011. Through MFP, Georgia has achieved a 2 percent growth in annual spending on home and community-based services as of December 31, 2010. With the extension of MFP under the Affordable Care Act, the state plans to continue the program through 2016. By that time, Georgia hopes to transition more than 2,000 individuals from institutions back to the community with the help of over $93 million in enhanced federal matching funds.

Case Study (.pdf)