CMS Letter To State Medicaid Directors, May 25, 2004: Ending Chronic Homelessness

On May 25, 2004, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a letter to state Medicaid directors regarding chronic homelessness. The letter highlights efforts to develop and implement a comprehensive national approach to end chronic homelessness in the United States through interagency, intergovernmental, and intercommunity collaborations. CMS also uses the letter to encourage states to "suspend" and not "terminate" Medicaid benefits while a person is in a public institution or Institute for Mental Disease (IMD). Persons released from institutions are at risk of homelessness; thus, access to mainstream services upon release is important in establishing a continuum of . . .