Blog - FMAP Extension Could Occur When Congress Returns from Recess

Author:

Tim Hiller

July 7, 2010

Issue Areas:

Cost, Coverage, Disparities, Vulnerable Populations

Congress adjourned for the July 4th recess without approving additional Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) funds to help cash strapped states avert major cuts to Medicaid benefits. States have in turn cut essential benefits, such as dental benefits, causing Medicaid beneficiaries to have to choose between living with excruciating oral pain or having their teeth removed. Elsewhere states have cut back on HIV prevention and treatment programs causing one prominent HIV/AIDS activist to flatly state that “people will die” as a result of the cuts.

The silver lining may be that the FMAP extension is still on Congress’ radar. Kaiser Health News’ Mary Agnes Carey reports that there is quite a bit of talk going on at the moment about taking up the FMAP issue when Congress returns from break next week.

MARY AGNES CAREY: I think it absolutely is not dead, and I think it will keep it alive. Last week, Republican and Democratic governors came to Washington to make their case to say if we don’t get this additional money, we have to make cuts now, beginning July 1st, because our state budgets start then and we need to know if we are not getting additional funding, we need to start making cuts now. I think that local officials will bring home the same message to their lawmakers during this July 4th break. If they are worried about cuts in education programs, if they are worried about winding, taking down from the state surplus funding to help pay the Medicaid that must be paid, the bills, the number of people that have enrolled, as we know, has increased with the recession; so I think this drumbeat will certainly keep up to put pressure on Congress to act.

JACKIE JUDD: What kind of compromises could be hatched?

MARY AGNES CAREY: Well, there was a concern for example, I believe it was Susan Collins of Maine, a moderate Republican, had said that she wanted to see the additional Medicaid money end at some point, so they had lowered the amount, had fixed it so it would phase down over six months. That has yet to bring Republican support to it, but that could be attractive to moderates in both the Democratic and Republican parties.They could look at reducing the amount yet again. It was as high as $24 billion, went down to $18 billion, so you could look at another reduction in that funding. There is always a lot of room in negotiation on this, but I think that it is one of those issues that we will be following throughout the summer.

As I have previously argued, this boils down to a question of what kind of society do we want to become? I continue to believe that the true measure of a great nation is how the least amongst us are treated. While the long term deficit problem is real, the director of the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office recently argued before Congress that the extension of aid to the states, and other short term economic stimulus, does not conflict with the long term goal of reigning in budget deficits.

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