Amata Welcomes $4.75 Million HHS/CMS Planning Grant to Serve Elderly

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Uifa’atali Amata welcomes notification from the U.S. Health and Human Services Department (HHS) and Centers of Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) of a grant of just over $4.75 million supporting seniors, those with disabilities, and other key services.

CMS awarded $4,753,644 to American Samoa for a Money Follows the Person (MFP) planning grant. This supports initial planning and infrastructure needed to improve availability and access to home and community-based services. MFP is a demonstration project to rebalance long-term services and supports (LTSS) systems from institutional to home and community-based care (HCBC). The program provides flexible funding opportunities to help states and territories develop and test the processes, tools, and infrastructure to advance these reforms. The period of performance is through September 30, 2026.

“Thank you to University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities State Director Tafaimamao L. Tua-Tupuola and the team at UCEDD and ASCC for their application work in qualifying for this grant,” said Aumua Amata. “Congratulations to Governor Lemanu P.S. Mauga, Lt. Governor Talauega E.V. Ale, and everyone involved with this grant to develop services for those most in need of assistance. Due to these efforts, American Samoa along with Puerto Rico in this announcement are the first territories included in this demonstration project. Thank you to HHS Secretary Xavier Becarra and CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure for extending these federal services into American Samoa.”

In all, the federal agencies awarded nearly $25 million in these planning grants to five states and territories to expand access to home and community-based services through Medicaid’s Money Follows the Person (MFP) demonstration program. With these awards, 41 states and territories across the country now participate.

“Today we are expanding access to home and community-based services so even more states and territories are equipped to best serve the millions of seniors and people with disabilities across the country,” said Secretary Becarra.

“We’re putting the full weight of this agency behind solutions that can meet people where they are and help get them to where they want to be when it comes to health care,” said CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure. “Money Follows the Person has a proven track record of helping seniors and people with disabilities transition safely from institutional care to their own homes and communities.”

Awards of up to $5 million are being announced for Illinois, Kansas, and New Hampshire, as well as for American Samoa and Puerto Rico – the first time MFP grants have been made available to territories.

These awards support the planning phase for their MFP programs, including the following:

• Establishing partnerships with community stakeholders;
• Conducting system assessments to better understand how HCBS support local residents;
• Developing community transition programs;
• Establishing or enhancing Medicaid HCBS quality improvement programs; and
• Recruiting HCBS providers as well as expert providers for transition coordination and technical assistance.

A new report from CMS also describes how MFP has helped facilitate more than 107,000 transitions out of institutional settings since 2008. It also indicates that more than 85% of people who used Medicaid long-term services and supports in 2019 received HCBS rather than institutional services. First authorized by Congress in 2006, MFP has provided states with more than $4 billion to support people who choose to transition out of institutions and back into their homes and communities.

Medicaid is the primary funder of HCBS nationally. Through the American Rescue Plan Act, Congress temporarily increased Medicaid funding for HCBS. The administration estimates that this change will ultimately result in $25 billion in increased funding. In June 2022, HHS notified states that they now have an additional year, through March 31, 2025, to use this critical funding.

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