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Tag Archives: medicaid
Money Follows the Person (MFP)
Money Follows the Person (MFP) is a federal initiative whose goal is to move currently institutionalized persons with disabilities into home- and community based care. This is seen as a way to improve quality of life and enhance independent living for individuals, and to save federal and state Medicaid dollars. Idaho and other states are currently researching the design and implementation of MFP.
Check out the web site for the Welcome to the Housing Capacity Building Initiative for Community Living project here.
See also the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services description of MFP here.
Check back for additional resources and information regarding MFP.
Inclusive Design Gets Customers in the Door
By Erik Kingston, PCED
More and more single-family home buyers, builders and designers are recognizing the obvious: we’re all seniors in training (if we’re lucky), and each of us has friends, family members or neighbors with disabilities.
Smart Business Practice. Think of it. What other industry would tell nearly half of its potential customer base, “our products are not for you or your friends and family; we don’t need your business?”
As with most innovation, visitable single-family construction will evolve through a combination of customer demand, builder savvy, and/or regulation. The demand is there, based on the number of folks with mobility impairments who don’t need or want to live in an institution. Baby Boomers are aging, and we (and our parents) prefer the comfort and independence of living in homes that meet our changing needs.
Builders who anticipate these needs will start building and marketing Homes for Life, just as they now build to LEED and “Super Energy Good Cents” standards to attract customers who want to save energy costs. Creative and visionary builders will lead the way to a sustainable housing market, either by acquiring and renovating existing properties or building new homes to Universal Design standards.
Simple, cost-effective construction guidelines. Some building professionals are reluctant to consider ‘one more standard.’ There are also many popular misconceptions about the costs of creating ‘visitability.’
Thankfully, the pros at Concrete Change and elsewhere have researched real-world costs to build or adapt homes, and a set of practical, easy to implement construction guidelines that highlight two basic features:
one zero-step entrance.
doors with 32 inches of clear passage space.
one bathroom on the main floor you can get into in a wheelchair
In most cases, visitability can be achieved by simply specifying 2’10” or wider entry and passage doors.
Medicaid savings. There’s plenty of talk about saving Medicaid costs at the state and federal levels. According to estimates provided by the Idaho State Independent Living Council (SILC) in 2002, the average Medicaid recipient with home-based care saves Medicaid up to $32,000 (by some estimates) every year when compared to institutional care. This doesn’t even account for the quality of life issues and personal independence that come with living in your own home. Those interested in maximizing outcomes from Medicaid investments might consider advocating for housing that is both affordable and accessible.
Demographic changes. Wheelchair users are not all seniors. Wounded warriors, athletes and professionals all want housing that is close to services, retail, recreation and culture and that allows them to live independently. They represent a strong market for well-designed and well-built housing that can be used by anyone, whether they currently have a disability or not.
Access means business. Besides residential construction, small business represents a potential market for contractors with knowledge about accessible design practices. There are thousands of small businesses throughout America that can (and should) be made accessible. Someone has to build and install those ramps, widen doorways, and install grab bars in bathrooms. Even better, there are excellent tax incentives for small businesses to remove barriers.* See more on this at www.rampupidaho.org
Lean more. Here is one example of how we get to the point of equal access and independent living. To add more news, send an email to and type ‘accessible future’ in the subject line. Let’s do it.
*Note. The former Concrete Change web site contained several helpful resources that are not contained in the current visitability.org site, although a .pdf version of a portion of the original material is available here:
