Program
Medicaid help moving out of a nursing home
A program that helps people leave a nursing home and pays for set-up costs such as home changes.
What it can pay for
- ramps
- grab bars
- wider doors
- bathroom changes
- medical equipment
- a home care aide
- personal care
- adult day care
- respite care
- rent
- meals
- Official name
- Money Follows the Person (MFP) demonstration
- Where
- Nationwide
- Status
- Program running
- About the amount
- No federal per-person cap; states set limits. $450M/year appropriated FY2024-FY2027 across all state grantees combined. Supplemental services have been 100% federally funded since 1/1/2022.
- Housing rules
- Destination must be a 'qualified residence': a home owned/leased by the person or family, an apartment with an individual lockable lease, or a residence with no more than 4 unrelated people.
- How long it takes
- No published timeline; the 12-month MFP HCBS period begins on the discharge date; afterward the person moves to the regular state waiver (which may have its own roughly 15-month average wait for older adults).
- How to apply
- Inside a nursing home, answer 'yes' to MDS Section Q (Item Q0500B) to trigger a referral, or call the state Medicaid agency's MFP program directly, or Eldercare Locator 1-800-677-1116 for the ADRC.
- Does not pay for
- Excludes ongoing room and board beyond the short-term supplemental rent/food allowance.
- Official source
- medicaid.gov
- Last checked
- September 28, 2026