A recent Politico article indicates that states are beginning to consider cuts to their Medicaid program as they face severe budget deficits resulting from the COVID-19 related economic crisis. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act bars states from cutting Medicaid eligibility, making it harder to enroll and disenrolling beneficiaries for the duration of the public […]
A new Robert Wood Johnson Foundation study conducted by the Urban Institute estimates the impact of increases in the unemployment rate on health coverage among the non-elderly nationally — including changes in Medicaid/CHIP enrollment and the number of uninsured — and on a state-specific basis. A variety of scenarios are assessed. There are three unemployment […]
As part of the Families First COVID-19 legislation, Congress provided a temporary 6.2 percentage point increase in the federal Medicaid matching rate (FMAP) for the duration of the public health emergency. The bipartisan National Governors Association and the National Association of Medicaid Directors are both urging Congress to provide further FMAP increases (totaling at least […]
As I have previously written, a significant share of the inadequate fiscal relief that Congress has already provided to states facing huge budget shortfalls could be canceled out if the Trump Administration goes ahead and finalizes its highly damaging “Medicaid Fiscal Accountability” rule (known as MFAR). The rule would adversely affect how states finance their […]
Those of us who have worked on Medicaid for years have a running joke about Medicaid being the missing “M” in the acronym CMS – which stands for the federal Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Medicare has always been the big dog on the block – both in terms of political clout, size and […]
Today, the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act became law.This is the fourth piece of legislation addressing the COVID-19 pandemic and the nation’s economic downturn. It provides additional funding for programs created by the CARES Act, (P.L. 116- 123), including another $380 billion to support small businesses and another $75 billion to help […]
