Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021
Please Note: This page is currently being updated by DHCS for conformity with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). In the meantime, some links and/or forms may be inactive or unavailable. Please send a request for needed forms to the CCT mailbox at California.CommunityTransitions@dhcs.ca.gov.
On December 27, 2020, the President signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA) into law. The Act authorized an extension of the Money Follows the Person (MFP) Demonstration (known as California Community Transitions (CCT)) and appropriated additional funding for 2021 through 2023. In response, CCT transitions have been authorized to continue through at least December 31, 2023, and potentially through 2027 if federal grant funding remains available.
The CAA reauthorized funding for the MFP program through federal fiscal year (FY) 2023 and
made other statutory changes to the program. In particular, the CAA allows participating states to provide community transition services earlier for an eligible individual's inpatient stay leading to an increased number of MFP-funded transitions to the community, and provides programmatic support to improve MFP performance under technical assistance and evaluation contracts.
In addition, the Act reduces the number of days a person must be in an institution before they become eligible to enroll in the MFP/CCT Demonstration, from 90 to 60 days. The new eligibility criteria began on January 26, 2021.
California Community Transition Project
In January 2007, the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) was awarded special federal grant number 1LICMS30149 to implement a Money Follows the Person (MFP) Rebalancing Demonstration, known as “California Community Transitions" (CCT).
DHCS works with designated CCT Lead Organizations to identify eligible Medi-Cal beneficiaries who have continuously resided in state-licensed health care facilities for a period of 90 consecutive days or longer. *Facility stays for short-term rehabilitation services reimbursed by Medicare are not counted toward the 90-day required period.
CCT Lead Organizations employ or contract with transition coordinators who work directly with willing and eligible individuals, support networks, and providers to facilitate and monitor beneficiaries' transitions from facilities to the community settings of their choice. Eligible individuals of all ages with physical and mental disabilities have an opportunity to participate in CCT. Refer to the link below for information on specific CCT Lead Organizations and their service areas.
The MFP Demonstration was amended by section 2403 of Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; the Medicaid Extenders Act of 2019; the Medicaid Services Investment and Accountability Act of 2019; the Sustaining Excellence in Medicaid Act of 2019; the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020; the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, 2020; and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021.
In December 2020, the federal government extended the term of the MFP grant and appropriated additional funding for allocation to state grantees. CCT transition services are currently available through December 31, 2023 and potentially through 2027 if federal grant funding remains available.
DHCS works with designated CCT Lead Organizations to identify eligible Medi-Cal beneficiaries who have continuously resided in state-licensed health care facilities for a period of 60 consecutive days or longer. *Facility stays for short-term rehabilitation services reimbursed by Medicare are not counted toward the 60-day required period.
CCT Lead Organizations employ or contract with transition coordinators who work directly with willing and eligible individuals, support networks, and providers to facilitate and monitor beneficiaries' transitions from facilities to the community settings of their choice. Eligible individuals of all ages with physical and mental disabilities have an opportunity to participate in CCT. Refer to the following link for information on specific CCT Lead Organizations and their service areas.
Upon transitioning to the community, the transition coordinator follows the participant for 365 days, this is known as the demonstration period. The demonstration period allows participants and transition coordinators to respond to needs that are identified post-transition, CCT participants live in their own homes, apartments, or in approved community care facilities, and receive long-term services and supports included in their individual comprehensive service plans. At the end of the demonstration period, individuals who remain eligible for Medi-Cal continue to receive Medi-Cal and other home and community-based services (HCBS) where they live.
For more information, contact the Integrated Systems of Care Division at (833) 388-4551, or e-mail:
California.CommunityTransitions@dhcs.ca.govState Funded California Community Transitions - Like Project
On July 27, 2021, Assembly Bill (AB) 133 was chaptered into law.
The approval of AB 133 allows for the roll out of a state-funded, California Community Transitions (CCT)–like program that had been rendered invalid because of a federal amendment to the Money Follows the Person (MFP) Demonstration authorizing statute. AB 133 aligns state statute with the amended federal statute, by reducing the required period of residence in an inpatient facility from 90 to 60 days. The State-funded, CCT-like program allows CCT Lead Organizations to provide transition services to Medi-Cal beneficiaries who have not yet met the federal, MFP residency eligibility criteria, as a way to help reduce the amount of time beneficiaries are required to remain in an institution during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE).
See
Welfare and Institutions Codes, Article 6.2 Community Transitions 14196.2.
Starting January 1, 2023, the department will cease to enroll beneficiaries under the temporary program and commencing January 1, 2024, the department shall cease to provide services pursuant to this article. All other prior CCT requirements will remain in place after the end of the State Funded CCT–Like Project.
