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Independent Living News & Policy from the National Council on Independent Living

Join Wednesday’s Call-In Day for Money Follows the Person!

Thanks to your ongoing advocacy, Congress passed a short-term Money Follows the Person (MFP) extension (the Medicaid Extenders Act, H.R. 259) into law early this year. On February 25, Congress introduced a new version of the EMPOWER Care Act (H.R. 1342 / S. 548) that would extend the MFP program for five years in both the House and the Senate.

MFP was enacted in 2005 with strong bipartisan support, and is one of the longest running, most successful Medicaid demonstrations. Since it began, 47 states have participated and over 88,000 disabled people have been freed from institutions – and CILs have played a critical role in that. However, MFP expired on September 30, 2016, and the Medicaid Extenders Act provided only three months of funding, so our continued advocacy is needed for a longer-term extension.

The EMPOWER Care Act would extend the MFP program for five years, giving us more time to work toward a permanent solution for MFP. Importantly, now that CILs have been established as a national network required to conduct transition services (as part of the passage of WIOA in 2014), NCIL would like to see a permanent MFP solution that incorporates the CIL network into the bill language. NCIL is committed to that effort, and passing the EMPOWER Care Act into law would serve as a much-needed next step to reaching that goal.

Take Action Now!

  • Participate in Wednesday’s National Call-In Day! Call your Representative and Senators and tell them to support the EMPOWER Care Act and pass it immediately! Call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 or (202) 224-3091 (TTY). Find more information at Wednesday’s Facebook event. RSVP and share widely!
  • Other ways to contact your Members of Congress: You can find your Members’ Twitter handles and other contact information on Contacting Congress. (If you post on social media, use the handle #FundMFP)
  • Continue sharing your stories! See our previous alert for more details about the stories we’re looking for, and share them with us for our advocacy efforts in DC.
  • Share with the press! Arrange press interviews highlighting the stories of folks who were able to move home because of MFP, or individuals who are stuck in institutions and would benefit from MFP’s reauthorization. Sharing our stories is the key to gaining the support of members of Congress AND the public. If you successfully get the press to cover MFP, please send a link of the coverage to [email protected].