WASHINGTON, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- The U.S. government announced more than $23 million in grants Friday to help 17 states improve their Medicaid long-term-care programs.
The $23 million in fiscal year 2007, which will go to demonstration programs, could increase to as much as $900 million over the next five years if the programs are successful in moving people out of institutions and into the community, said Leslie Norwalk, acting administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
The initiative, called This Money Follows the Person, is designed to help financially cushion states' efforts to offer individuals a full range of home and community-based services.
Critics of the current policy say it places too much emphasis on placing elderly and disabled beneficiaries in long-term-care institutions, which is unnecessarily costly and reduces their quality of life.
The program was authorized by language in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005.
The largest awards will go to Wisconsin, which will receive more than $8 million, and Oklahoma, which will get more than $3.5 million. South Carolina received just over $34,000, the smallest grant.
