Feds to Provide 100 Percent Funding for New Medicaid Beneficiaries
- By BSTQ Staff
In March, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a final rule that provides funding for states that expand Medicaid. Effective Jan. 1, 2014, the federal government will pay 100 percent of the cost of Medicaid to adults under 65 years of age with an income of up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level (approximately $15,000 for a single adult in 2012) who are defined as newly eligible, and who are enrolled in the new eligibility group. These payments will be in effect through 2016, phasing down to a permanent 90 percent matching rate by 2020. The rule also provides information about the availability of an increased Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) for certain adults who are not newly eligible.
The rule builds on several years of work that HHS has done to support and provide flexibility to states’ Medicaid programs ahead of the 2014 expansion, including 90 percent matching rate for states to improve eligibility and enrollment systems; more resources and flexibility for states to test innovative ways of delivering care through Medicaid; more collaboration with states on audits that track down fraud; and specifically outlining ways states can make Medicaid improvements without going through a waiver process.
