JUST WHEN YOU THINK IT’S SAFE TO GO BACK INTO THE WATER....danger looms!
Think back to a few months ago to when we talked about the "federal match". The real name for that is the "Federal medical assistance percentage" (FMAP). This is used to calculate the amount of Federal share of State expenditures for services.
When the Government implemented the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act last year, they increased FMAP from a 60% to 70% match. That meant millions of extra dollars to Kansas. These dollars go towards community developmental disability services.
THE PROBLEM:
· The FMAP increase ends on December 31, 2010 and if isn’t extended, will result in State budget cuts that will jeopardize numerous private and public sector jobs.
· FMAP was just removed from H.R. 4213 and needs be added back in. This bill is now in the Senate.
· If this is not extended it could have major consequences for state budgets and the ability of people with disabilities to live in the community.
· Kansas has included the FMAP extension in their FY'11 budget and does not have a back-up plan if it does not pass.
· Now is likely the last opportunity to get the FMAP extension in a bill and passed by this Congress.
CALL TO ACTION:
If this is something you feel that you can support, please contact your Senator and ask him to support restoring the extension of the increased federal Medicaid match.
- For Senator Sam Brownback call (202) 224-6521
- For Senator Pat Roberts call (202) 224-4774
HOW DO I DO IT?
It’s really very simple. Your conversation may go like this:
"Hi my name is......and I am in the Senator's district. I am asking for his support to restore the extension of FMAP into H.R. 4213. If this is not added back, it will have negative effects on the already underfunded community disability services system. Kansas has included the increased FMAP into their FY'11 budget and will cause further cuts to services. This extension is necessary to relieve fiscal pressures on the Medicaid program. I can be contacted at....."
Thanks so much and hope you are having an enjoyable summer!
Warm (no pun intended) Regards,
Lurena Mead
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Share your experiences about developmental disabilities. An open forum on various developmental disability topics is encouraged. Please refrain from comments that are discriminatory or otherwise inappropriate.