Georgia Department of Community Health Receives $57 Million Federal Grant

BIP Grant Will Improve Access to Long-Term Non-institutional Services

ATLANTA (July 2, 2012) -- The Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH) has received a three-year $57 million Balancing Incentives Program (BIP) grant to increase access to home- and community-based long-term care services and supports (LTSS). Georgia is one of four states to receive the grant in 2012, joined by Mississippi, Missouri and Iowa, for implementation on July 1, 2012.

“We are extremely pleased to receive this grant funding to create easier access to home- and community-based living arrangements for some of our most vulnerable populations,” said DCH Commissioner David A. Cook. “It will mean an additional 2 percent in annual federal matching funds to create easier access to long-term care services for people served through our waivers and to add slots for home- and community-based care settings.”

Georgia’s Balancing Incentives Program funds will be used to further expand the use of home- and community-based long-term care services through the following:

• Expand the number of slots in Georgia’s five 1915(c) Medicaid Waiver Programs.
• Fund three new community-based services for Medicaid recipients with serious and persistent behavioral health needs. The services have been proposed through State Plan Amendment.
• Adopt Georgia’s 12 Aging and Disability Resource Centers as the primary point of entry for home and community services.
• Provide web-based training on community-based long-term care services available to targeted referral sources.

The BIP also provides new ways to serve more people in home- and community-based settings. The BIP increases the Federal Matching Assistance Percentage (FMAP) to states that make structural reforms to increase nursing home diversions and access to non-institutional LTSS. The enhanced matching payments are tied to the percentage of a state’s LTSS spending, with lower FMAP increases going to states that need to make fewer reforms.

Georgia is currently creating an Integrated Eligibility System to provide a single point of entry for Medicaid members. This system will be used to fulfill the Single Point of Entry/No Wrong Door requirements of the BIP grant.

The State Balancing Incentive Payments Program is funded by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

About the Georgia Department of Community Health

Through effective planning, purchasing and oversight, the Department of Community Health (DCH) provides access to affordable, quality health care to millions of Georgians, including some of the state’s most vulnerable and underserved populations.

DCH is responsible for Medicaid and PeachCare for Kids,^® the State Health Benefit Plan, Healthcare Facility Regulation and Health Information Technology in Georgia.

David A. Cook serves as Commissioner for the Georgia Department of Community Health.

To learn more about DCH and its dedication to A Healthy Georgia, visit www.dch.georgia.gov.