Senate Agrees to Short-term MFP Renewal – What Next?

Given ANCOR’s leadership role in advocating for the Money Follows the Person program (MFP), we are thrilled to announce that late on January 17 the Senate voted for a three-month extension of the program using the unanimous consent process, following last week’s House vote. The Senate bill is H.R. 259, which bundled several Medicaid extension provisions in addition to MFP, including spousal impoverishment provisions, and is now headed to the President for his signature. Once he has signed, this will make the MFP grants available again to organizations assisting individuals with disabilities and chronic conditions with moving out of state-run institutions and nursing homes, into the community. Importantly, states who have existing MFP grants will not need to reapply to receive funding.

Given the current acrimonious political climate due the partial federal shutdown – now officially the longest-running to date – passing this bill through Congress is a significant accomplishment by ANCOR and our partners in the disability advocacy community. MFP renewal has been a top ANCOR priority and we will continue to lead advocacy efforts for a longer-term renewal. Please stay tuned – we will let ANCOR members know when there are opportunities for action to ensure the stability of this important rebalancing program.