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Territory eligible for increase in Medicaid percentage

American Samoa has received from the U.S. Centers for Medicaid and Medicare (CMS) a temporary reduction of just over 2% in local matching for the Medicaid program and this means more than $700,000 in additional revenues for the hospital for the current fiscal year.

 

In a statement released yesterday, Gov. Lolo Matalasi Moliga said that the territory received CMS confirmation that American Samoa’s Medicaid program has fulfilled the requirements and has satisfied the criteria to receive a temporary 2.2% increase in its Federal Assistance Medicaid Percentage (FMAP). 

 

This will reduce the local match requirement by 2.2% applicable from Jan. 1, 2014 through Dec. 31, 2015.

 

“This increase in our Medicaid match percentage from federal funds is going to help us for the next two years in lowering our local government’s match requirement, however, given the great need to improve our health care services, any savings realized shall be re-invested in the improvement of our health care system,” the governor said.

 

Under the Medicaid program, the statutorily set FMAP percentage is 55% federal and 45% local.  For 2014 and 2015, it will now be 57.2% federal and 42.8% local.

 

According to the statement, the ASG Medicaid office submitted to CMS in March a Benefits Analysis Review to apply for the 2-year temporary FMAP increase authorized under the federal Affordable Care Act, aka "Obamacare".

 

The statement says that Medicaid program in all states and territories requires a local match percentage, adding that territories with high unemployment and poverty levels have one of the highest match requirements at 45%.

 

“Generally, wealthy states like California or Connecticut have a 50% match, while poor states like Mississippi have a match rate of only 30% — the lowest in the nation,” it says.

 

In its fiscal year 2014 second quarter performance report, under Alternative Funding sources, LBJ Medical Center says it has been informed by CMS and the ASG Medicaid director that the hospital is eligible for an increase of 2.2% in the FMAP for two years.

 

LBJ also says the increase in the Medicaid federal share “is projected to bring an additional $780,000 to the hospital’s FY 2014 revenue”.