Washington, DC – The American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) urged Congress to include Medicaid relief for states in a second economic stimulus package, saying a temporary increase in states’ Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) is necessary to serve as a needed insurance policy to protect vulnerable seniors’ care needs as states cope with the ongoing economic downturn.
Following a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee, Chaired by Representative Frank Pallone (D-NJ), AHCA/NCAL President and CEO Bruce Yarwood implored congressional leaders to evaluate how the economic downturn impacts state budgets in the context of Medicaid funding adequacy.
“We thank Representative Pallone and the Health subcommittee for examining how Medicaid is negatively impacted by current economic conditions, and are pleased to see Congressional support for an FMAP boost, through H.R. 5268,” Yarwood said. “An FMAP boost through an economic stimulus package is a timely, temporary and targeted insurance policy to protect the vital care needs of America’s most vulnerable seniors in the face of challenging state budget conditions.”
Yarwood noted that most states cannot operate under budget deficits, and state lawmakers often look first to Medicaid to make cuts, to the detriment of states’ oldest, highest acuity long term care residents. Sixteen states face budget shortfalls this year, according to the National Governors’ Association (NGA), and the number could grow to twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia next year, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
“We intend to ensure our policymakers understand why an FMAP increase in 2003 was good public policy then, and would be good public policy in 2008 when it comes to protecting our seniors’ access to quality long term care,” Yarwood concluded.
The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) represent nearly 11,000 non-profit and proprietary facilities dedicated to continuous improvement in the delivery of professional and compassionate care provided daily by millions of caring employees to 1.5 million of our nation's frail, elderly and disabled citizens who live in nursing facilities, assisted living residences, subacute centers and homes for persons with mental retardation and developmental disabilities. For more information, please visit www.ahca.org or www.ncal.org.