Citing the devastation wrought by COVID-19 on nursing home residents and a 46% decrease in transitions from 2018 to 2019, CMS announced a $165 million supplemental funding opportunity for the 33 demonstration states participating in Money Follows the Person (MFP) funded transition of Medicaid beneficiaries from institutional care to home and community-based services (HCBS). Under the MFP HCBS Capacity Building Initiative, each MFP demonstration state is eligible to receive up to $5 million in supplemental funding for planning and capacity building activities. These activities include assessing institutional and HCBS capacity and determining the resources needed to increase MFP transitions; recruiting and training providers, direct service workers, and caregivers; and experimenting with possible changes to reimbursement rates and payment methodologies to expand and improve HCBS provider capacity and service quality.
CMS suggests states can use this funding to implement telehealth for nursing facility transition activities that would normally be conducted in-person, or to redesign service delivery models to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection among MFP participants. Eligible states may request supplemental funding under the initiative on a rolling basis through June 30, 2021, and funds will be available for the federal fiscal year in which the funds are awarded and for four additional fiscal years.