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Today, the Trump Administration took steps to implement provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (Public Law 116-127) that provide states with enhanced federal Medicaid funding during the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) national emergency, including the release of implementation guidance.
All Medicaid programs are jointly funded between the state and the federal governments where the federal government pays states for a specified percentage of program expenditures, commonly referred to as the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP). Section 6008 of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act provides for a possible 6.2 percent increase in the FMAP for each state and territory, including the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands. This increase will be retroactive to January 1, 2020 and will continue through the end of the quarter in which the public health emergency for COVID-19 ends.
All state Medicaid agencies are eligible for the increased FMAP as long as they adhere to the conditions outlined in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. The guidance document released today provides answers questions on various aspects of the FMAP increase to ensure states know how to best obtain and utilize this funding. This guidance answers critical questions for states, including:
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The timeframe the increased funding will be available,
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Which costs are eligible for the enhanced funding,
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The conditions under which states can claim the funds,
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And the procedures and documentation requirements for access the enhanced funding
As outlined in the guidance, enhanced funding will be available to states almost immediately. For grant awards covering period beginning January 1, 2020 through March 31, 2020, states will receive the funds in their Payment Management System (PMS) account no later than tomorrow, Wednesday, March 25, 2020.
The information released today furthers CMS’s commitment to providing our state partners the resources they need in this trying time, and earlier CMS actions in response to the COVID-19 crisis are all part of ongoing White House Coronavirus Task Force efforts. To keep up with the important work the Task Force is doing in response to COVID-19, click here: www.coronavirus.gov. For a complete and updated list of CMS actions, guidance, and other information in response to the COVID-19 virus, please visit the Current Emergencies Website. Additionally, CMS has launched a dedicated, Medicaid.gov, COVID-19 resource page that will be continually updated with relevant information.
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