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Torres: Medicaid reimbursements should go to NMI Medicaid
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Posted on Oct 02 2019
Gov. Ralph DLG Torres recommended that funds allocated toward Medicaid reimbursement for fiscal year 2020 go back to the NMI Medicaid Office.
The Senate amendment to what is now known as Public Law 21-8, provided that the over $5.3 million in federal Medicaid reimbursement funds for fiscal year 2020—if U.S. House Resolution 2328 becomes federal law—should be redirected toward the variable Medical Referral expenses and the operations of the Medicaid Office instead of the Public School System.
“The redirection of these funds raises a concern when a mandated allocation to a specific entity is met yet ignores critical services toward medical care. As such, I recommend that this funding be used for the operations of the Medicaid Office. Moreover, I recommend that any unused funds be appropriated for expenses related to Medical Referral,” the governor noted in highlights for P.L. 21-8, or the fiscal year 2020 budget.
In order to avail of Medicaid funding, the CNMI has to pay a local matching of 45%.
Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan’s (Ind-MP) H.R. 2328 seeks to secure $360 million for NMI Medicaid over the next six years. The federal legislation got the go-signal to leave the committee level recently.
Torres, in a letter addressed to U.S. Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Ron Wyden (D-OR), chairman and ranking member for the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, respectively, requested for support on the legislation. H.R. 2328 is currently under review at the U.S. Senate committee level.
H.R. 4378, a continuing resolution of the budget for government agencies based on the fiscal year 2019 budget to keep the federal government functioning, was entertained at the U.S. House last week. This legislation also includes a continuation of CNMI Medicaid reimbursements as well.
According to Sablan, there are clauses embedded in the continuing resolution that sustains the Federal Medical Assistance Percentages, or FMAP, for the NMI from June 2019’s HR 2157, or the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act, 2019.
Effectively, the continuing resolution would extend for eight weeks the 100% FMAP for the NMI until November 2019—this means that the CNMI would not have to pay any local matching to avail Medicaid funding if enacted.
