President Signs 3 Month MFP Reauthorization

The President has signed into law the Medicaid Extenders Act of 2019. The legislation allocates $112 million for Money Follows the Person (MFP), the estimated cost of a three month extension, and extends the Medicaid Spousal Impoverishment protection policy until March 31, 2019. The costs are offset by a provision that imposes penalties on state Medicaid programs without an asset verification system in place by 2021.  

 It is important to note that the legislation allows states that have already been awarded an MFP grant to resume drawing down money without having to recompete, even if they have closed out their programs. States without MFP grants cannot apply under this extension.

 Legislators from both parties continue to express commitment to a longer-term reauthorization of MFP. One possible path to such a reauthorization would be a second short term reauthorization to allow the program’s termination date to line up with a number of other Medicaid programs and policies that will need to be extended in the fall, and could pass as a package.

 FMI: To read the bill or track its progress, go to https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/259.