6111 Overview | ACCESS-TO-SERVICES-5200-MANUAL

The Money Follows the Person Program is a grant-funded program designed to assist Medicaid beneficiaries in transitioning from institutional settings into community settings using person-centered practices.

The Money Follows the Person Program (MFP) was created and authorized by the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. The law authorized the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to provide competitive grants to 13 states. Georgia was awarded the grant in 2007.

The MFP program was re-authorized, expanded, and extended by the Affordable Care Act of 2010. Funding was approved through the year 2020 and 42 states (including Washington, DC) participate as of 2014.

Georgia’s lead agency on Medicaid, the Department of Community Health (DCH) was awarded the grant in 2007. DCH operates the grant through an Operational Protocol submitted to CMS each calendar year.

As grantee, DCH contracts with other state agencies, including the Department of Human Services to administer the grant. Rules for administration of the program are kept in a Medicaid manual entitled: Policies and Procedures for Money Follows the Person, published by DCH.