Louisiana Department of Health & Hospitals | Bruce Greenstein, Secretary

The Money Follows the Person (MFP) Rebalancing Demonstration (the Demonstration) is a Medicaid program designed to help states try new ways of delivering Medicaid services. The Demonstration program is designed to help people to move, also called a “transition," from an institution into home- and community-based living settings, such as a home or apartment. In Louisiana, the Money Follows the Person Rebalancing Demonstration program is My Place Louisiana.

Louisiana is participating in the Demonstration with 29 other states and the District of Columbia. All states are working toward the same goal -- finding ways to support people to live where they want to and to receive the services they need using Medicaid long-term care services  

The Louisiana Medicaid Office is working with the Office for Citizens with Developmental Disabilities (OCDD) and the Office of Aging and Adult Services (OAAS) to implement the Demonstration and its program, My Place Louisiana, which is  a four-year (2008-2016) project focusing on Medicaid funding and following participants in transition from nursing facilities, hospitals, and ICFs/DD to home and community–based living services.

In Louisiana,  the Demonstration is known by the name My Place Louisiana or My Place. The Louisiana Demonstration is a four-year (2008-2016) opportunity which focuses on Medicaid funding following participants in transition from nursing facilities, hospitals, and ICFs/DD to home and community–based living services.

The purpose of My Place Louisiana is to give people community living options. A person participating in My Place Louisiana has a choice of where they live and what services they receive. A person can live in her or his own home, or in an apartment, at home with family, or with roommates also having waiver services.  To better understand the process of transitioning and how the My Place Louisiana program works, read  Sara’s Story or  Chuck's Story.

 What services may participants receive through My Place Louisiana?

• My Place Louisiana supports participants’ move to the community and living in the community long-term.
• My Place Louisiana participants use waivers and/or state plan service(s) to transition into a home or community setting.

Waivers and state plan service(s) included in My Place are:

•   Elderly/Disabled Adult (EDA) waiver,
•   Adult Day Health Care waiver,
•   Program of All–Inclusive Care for Elderly (PACE),
•   Long Term — Personal Care Services (LT-PCS),
•   Children’s Choice waiver,
•   Residential Options Waiver (new in 2009),
•   Adult Residential Care waiver (new in 2009),
•   Extended Home Health-Children, and
•   Support Coordination

My Place participants will not have to wait for waiver services; they can transition to home and community-based living settings as soon as eligibility, housing, and services are in place.

Eligible participants will receive additional Medicaid State Plan services. Services selected through My Place program. Services  will continue as long as participants are eligible and want the services.

The Money Follows the Person (MFP) Rebalancing Demonstration is a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Demonstration designed to help states try new ways of delivering Medicaid services. The Demonstration is designed to help people to move, also called “transition”, from an institution into home- and community-based living settings, such as a home or an apartment. In Louisiana, the Money Follows the Person Rebalancing Demonstration is known as My Place Louisiana.

Essentially, the demonstration seeks to capture Medicaid recipients’ satisfaction with their services in long-term care facilities as compared to home & community-based services. This information is gathered via Quality of Life surveys, which are administered to participants over a period of two years. My Place participants also have added benefits if needed, to overcome barriers to transitioning.

Anyone currently residing in a nursing facility for 90 days or longer who continues to meet NF LOC, and who is financially eligible for a Medicaid waiver, can participate in the demonstration.

People who may be eligible for My Place Louisiana must have been institutionalized for at least 90 consecutive  days and meet the following criteria:

• Elders (age 65 and older) currently living in nursing facilities, hospitals, or rehabilitation hospitals
• Adults with physical disabilities (at a nursing facility level of care)
• People with developmental disabilities of any age living in an ICF/DD
•  Children with developmental disabilities (age birth to 18 residing in a nursing facility) who meet the following criteria:

1.           Have resided in a nursing facility, ICF/DD, or hospital;
2.           Meet Medicaid financial eligibility; and
3.           Meet level of care eligibility for community-based service(s)

My Place Louisiana participants are able to voice opinions about the quality of care they receive in institutional or nursing home settings and in the community or home setting. This information is gathered via Quality of Life surveys administered prior to transition, one year post-transition, and two years post-transition, and is shared with CMS in order to improve current service delivery as well as to develop and implement new programs.

Medicaid requested additional funding from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to implement the My Place Louisiana demonstration after identifying barriers to transitioning nursing facility residents back to the community. Participants in the demonstration have access to funds for the following if they are essential to transition:

1. Additional home/environmental modifications or DME not covered by waiver/Medicaid
2. Community healthcare provider(s) consultation
3. Legal services needed to transition
4. Documents needed to apply for housing (birth certificates, identification)
5. Short-term emergency rental assistance

In order for an individual to participate in the demonstration, they or a legally authorized representative must agree to participate.  Participation in My Place Louisiana means transitioning from an institution to a home- or community-based living setting, such as a home or apartment.

Enrollment occurs in one of two ways. The participant can enroll in My Place at the time they accept a hand-delivered waiver offer by OAAS staff or by a support coordinator once linked to services, if their waiver offer was received in the mail. There is a My Place Louisiana Participant Handbook containing an informed consent which must be signed by the participant and returned to the My Place Louisiana staff. Enrollment form(s) are to be faxed within one business day of signature to (225) 219-0202 & the original(s) then mailed as follows:

Celeste Henley – My Place Louisiana Program Manager

DHH – OAAS

P.O. Box 2031

Baton Rouge, LA 70821-2031

No. My Place Louisiana is for anyone transitioning from a nursing facility to the community with waiver services. CMS & DHH are very interested in capturing quality of life data and giving Medicaid recipients a voice in how they receive services.

No, there is no cost or obligation to participate other than completion of three Quality of Life surveys.

My Place Louisiana will have Transition Coordinators in all nine public health regions of the state. These coordinators deliver waiver offers to eligible participants and maintain contact with them throughout the duration of their transitions. Transition coordinators also act as technical support for support coordinators and providers who may experience barriers to transition or other difficulties in the field. Additionally, My Place Louisiana has a staff person who conducts and submits all Quality of Life surveys. My Place staff at the OAAS state office supervise the transition coordinators, manages participant data, and compiles & submits reports to CMS as required by the demonstration.

Contact us:

Call the statewide toll-free number 1-888-342-6207
This toll-free number is staffed by Medicaid and is open from 7:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. (Monday— Friday). You call will be transferred to the appropriate staff. After regular business hours and on the weekend you may leave a voice message for My Place Louisiana staff, who will return your call as soon as possible.

Or, e-mail MyPlaceLouisiana@la.gov.  Staff will return your email promptly.

My Place Louisiana Program Staff:

Celeste Henley, My Place Louisiana Program Manager 225.342.8493

Clara Hamel, LMSW Transition Program Manager 225.219.0212

Yvette Javius, Housing Coordinator 225.219.4435