Multipurpose Senior Services Program (MSSP)

The Multipurpose Senior Services Program (MSSP) program code is 3910100.

MSSP provides both social and health care management services to assist frail individuals aged 65 or older to remain in their own homes and communities. To be eligible for MSSP, these individuals must meet the criteria for skilled nursing facility care. The Program’s goal is to prevent or delay institutionalization through ongoing care management, using available community services and resources, and purchasing needed services when they are not already available. The total annual combined cost of care management and other services must be lower than the cost of receiving skilled nursing facility care.

MSSP operates under a Medicaid (Medi-Cal in California) 1915(c) Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) waiver that has been approved by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The current waiver extends from July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2024. The California Department of Aging (CDA) administers MSSP under an interagency agreement with the Department of Health Care Services. CDA’s MSSP Bureau oversees the programmatic, fiscal, and service components of local MSSP site operations.

A team of health and social service professionals provides each MSSP participant with a complete health and psychosocial assessment to determine needed services. The team then works with the MSSP participant, their physician, family, and others to develop an individualized care plan.

Services include but are not limited to:

• Care management;
• Adult day care;
• Minor home repair/maintenance;
• Supplemental in-home chore, personal care and protective supervision services;
• Respite services;
• Transportation services;
• Counseling and therapeutic services;
• Meal services; and
• Communication services.