If you’ve been following discussion or listening to the news on the state of the state budget lately, you’ve probably been hearing the acronym “FMAP” a lot. FMAP stands for Federal Medical Assistance Percentage, which is the rate that determines the amount of federal Medicaid money each state gets. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, more commonly referred to as the Federal stimulus bill, enacted an enhanced FMAP for some states, including New York. This meant that New York would get an increase in Federal Medicaid funding during the period of the enhanced FMAP rate. This enhancement in funding is set to expire at the end of this year.The reason Washington decided to give states more Medicaid funding than they usually get as part of the stimulus bill is because state Medicaid programs all over the country were being strained. The country was experiencing an economic downturn of unprecedented proportions; people were losing their jobs, which, in many cases, also meant they were losing their health insurance. It made a lot of sense then that people were turning to Medicaid for the care and services they need to keep them healthy and safe. It is not uncommon for people to turn to public programs in times of need.

The nation’s economy continues to struggle, which means everyday people continue to grapple with how to make ends meet. For this reason, leaders in the U.S. Senate and House have attempted to extend the current enhanced Federal Medicaid funding through June of next year to support states’ Medicaid programs. The Congressional leaders know that Medicaid programs will continue to grow and states like New York will continue to struggle to pay for the ballooning program. To date, no extension has been passed by either house.

Both New York Senator’s Schumer and Gillibrand are supportive of extending the enhanced FMAP, as are most of the members of the New York delegation in the House. It is Members of Congress from other states who have been holding this up for fear that it costs too much.

Without an extension of the current enhanced funding, New York State faces a $1 billion hole in the already-contentious state budget. We need to see an extension happen before Congress breaks for their August recess. The alternative could be massive cuts to essential services, including those upon which many of us rely. Governor Paterson has proposed an FMAP contingency plan, which would slash state funding in almost every sector, not just Medicaid. This would be extremely detrimental and have far-reaching consequences. The Legislature would have to agree to the plan and pass it, but the Assembly and Senate have left Albany for the time being, so we don’t know when or if Paterson’s plan will become reality.

The CDR/RCIL Advocacy Team will keep you posted on developments and will alert you to any action that is needed to help get the FMAP enhancement extended to June 2011.