Connecticut Estate Planning Attorneys Blog
If you’re like most people, you may believe that once you’re in a nursing home, you’re there for good. Thanks to a federally funded program, Connecticut residents who have been institutionalized in a nursing home now have the option of transitioning back to the community. The program is called Money Follows the Person.
If you are a resident of a nursing home, the facility is required to ask you: “Do you want to talk with someone about the possibility of leaving this facility and returning to live and receive services in the community?”
If you answer yes, you can be referred to Money Follows the Person. You must be in a nursing home for 90 days to be eligible, but you can start the process any time before discharge. Anyone can refer you – the facility, a family member, your attorney or you.
In addition to being a 90-day resident of a nursing home, you must be eligible for Medicaid or one of the seven Medicaid Waiver programs, including:
- Connecticut Home Care Program for Elders (Category 3)
- Personal Care Attendant (PCA)
- Acquired Brain Injury (ABI)
- Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services WISE Program
(Working for Integration Support and Empowerment) - Department of Developmental Disabilities Comprehensive
- Department of Developmental Disabilities Individual Family Support
- Katie Beckett
If you are a long-time resident of a nursing home and no longer have a home of your own to return to, a transition coordinator will work with you to identify the resources you’ll need to succeed in the community, including housing, furnishings and home care services.
Sound too good to be true? Here’s a real-life story about someone who came back to the community on the Money Follows the Person program:
Meet Joe Luciano
“All in all, I am very happy, satisfied, if not thrilled every day to be living an independent life. My apartment even has a view of a Naugatuck River waterfall just a few hundred yards outside my dining and living room windows. Money Follows the Person made it possible! Even as a one-handed person, I am becoming more and more independent. I’m in charge of my own life—eating what I want when I want, sleeping, and active when I decide, and am free to go where I want when I want. I feel healthier in body and in mind. In fact, I am healthier in body and in mind.”
(Source: CT Money Follows the Person Quarterly Report, Quarter 1 2012)
Here’s how you can apply for Money Follows the Person:
Call toll free: 1-888-992-8637 (1-888-99-CTMFP) and someone will assist you with the application.
Apply online: http://ctmfp.com (If you apply online, you must complete the application in one sitting, so be sure to have all of the required information ready.)
What a relief to know that just because you end up in a nursing facility, doesn’t mean you must stay there to receive the care you need. Money Follows the Person is a wonderful program for those of us who want to go home.
Related Posts:
Nursing Home Resident Rights: Know Them, Stand Up For Them
What You Should Know Before Signing a Nursing Home Agreement
10 Waiver Programs in Connecticut That Can Help You Stay Out of a Nursing Home
A Good Reason NOT to Sign a Nursing Home Agreement for a Loved One While You’re At the Nursing Home
