MACPAC Urges HHS to Include Medicaid in Emergency Fund Disbursements

In a letter, the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC) echoed stakeholder requests, including ANCOR’s, that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) include Medicaid programs as it distributes funding in tranches to frontline health services through the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund created by the CARES Act.

As written in the letter:

“It is important to note that increased federal matching rates [in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act] do not substitute for direct relief. States can claim federal spending only when covered services are provided to Medicaid beneficiaries. To the extent that practices or facilities are closed or at risk of closing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the increased federal match rate does not result in increased federal dollars to states or providers.

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Similarly, while the [April 22] announcement notes the intention to distribute some portion of the funds to “skilled nursing facilities, dentists, and providers that solely take Medicaid”, there has been no indication of the amount of funding available for this purpose or how it will be allocated.”