D S S   P R E S S   R E L E A S E

For Immediate Release:
January 19, 2007

Contact: Ana Compain-Romero
(573) 751-4815

Missouri Awarded $17.7 Million
Medicaid Grant to Address Long-Term Care

Jefferson City – The Department of Social Services (DSS) today announced that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has awarded the Division of Medical Services (DMS) a grant of nearly $3.4 million dollars for 2007 with a total award of up to $17.7 million over the next five years. Missouri was one of seventeen states to receive the “Money Follows the Person Rebalancing Demonstration Grant.”

The purpose of the project is to help states create more and better choices for seniors and persons with disabilities regarding where they live and receive services.  The goal is to shift the focus of the Medicaid system from institutional to home and community-based services and to avoid or delay institutionalization.
 
“With these grant resources, it is our goal to create ways for seniors and those with disabilities to have greater control over the services they need,” DMS Interim Director Steve Renne said.  “We are pleased to have received the award which will allow us to work together with our partners at the Departments of Mental Health, Health and Senior Services and the agencies that serve seniors and persons with disabilities to improve care.”

The grant program was included in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 and is a key part of the President’s New Freedom Initiative.  There has been a nationwide trend over the last forty years to serve more people with disabilities in the community.  The grant will allow Missouri to eliminate barriers that may prevent individuals from having a choice in where they live; increase services to those individuals living in the community; and monitor the effectiveness of those services.

For more information about the grant and the New Freedom Initiative, log on to http://www.cms.hhs.gov/NewFreedomInitiative/.