Washington
CMS will give states $1.75 billion over five years to allow elderly and disabled Medicaid recipients to live in the community rather than in institutions, HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt announced.
The agency said the monies, to be delivered through competitive grants, will help shift Medicaid from its historical emphasis on institutional long-term care services to a system that offers more choices for seniors and people with disabilities, including home and community-based services.
What CMS terms a “rebalancing” initiative, called “Money Follows the Person,” was included in the Deficit Reduction Act and is a part of President Bush's “New Freedom” initiative.
Under the program, states will receive a higher rate of federal Medicaid matching funds for beneficiaries who are moved out of nursing homes and into community settings.
According to CMS Administrator Mark McClellan, “We've worked with advocates and states for years to end the institutional bias in Medicaid, and now we've got the best opportunity ever to do it. We need to move as quickly as possible to make that shift across Medicaid. With new federal funding, there is no longer any excuse for the status quo.”
