Funding Level: $1,394,945,895
Overview: Medicaid is a federal/state partnership program to provide health benefits to certain low income Americans including children, their parents, pregnant women, the elderly and those with disabilities. Because it is a partnership, states and the federal government each have a role in designing and paying for each state’s program. While states have some flexibility in determining what benefits they provide, who will be eligible and how much they will pay health care providers, they must work within federal guidelines. In turn, the federal government pays a portion of each state’s Medicaid costs. These matching dollars are referred to as Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) payments. As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), Congress acted to increase FMAP payments by a flat 6.2 percentage points for all states on a temporary basis to help states during the current recession. Funding increases will be in effect from FY 2009 until the first quarter of FY 2011.
For More Information: http://www.hhs.gov/recovery/programs/medicaidfmap.html
Federal Contact: Department of Health and Human Services
State Contact: Florida Office of Economic Recovery