Cuomo threatens to reject $6.7B in federal aid in favor of Medicaid redesign

ALBANY — Regardless of a $6 billion price range hole and new income losses posed by New York’s coronavirus outbreak, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is threatening to forgo greater than $6 billion in federal help he says would drive him to regulate his Medicaid redesign technique.

The governor this week reiterated that he will not accept the $6.7 billion in enhanced federal Medicaid matching price (FMAP) funds accepted earlier this month as a result of it might forestall him from modifying the state’s Medicaid program as proposed in his government price range.

“No, [New York’s congressional delegation] by no means fastened that invoice,” he advised reporters while leaving a Thursday information convention. “They never fastened it. They stated they might, they by no means did.”

But state finances officials have steered New York will use “a portion of these FMAP dollars to otherwise change, or delay, or spherical out the sides” of proposed modifications to its Medicaid program while additionally looking for “a repair to laws relating to implementation of [Medicaid Redesign Team] reforms.”

Cuomo had planned to shut his fiscal yr 2021 finances shortfall, which had primarily been attributed to Medicaid spending, by adjusting the local share paid by New York City and counties and adopting suggestions put forth by the Medicaid Redesign Group II.

With out such Medicaid modifications, Cuomo has stated, New York can't cross the fiscal yr 2021 finances due Tuesday.

He doubled down on that place Friday, telling WAMC’s Alan Chartock that New York gained’t be eligible for the funds together with his assumed modifications, which are not but in impact and should first be permitted by legislators.

“This state, not only did it take a beating in this bill, however the earlier bill that had $6 billion for New York state allocated in Medicaid cash, we don't even qualify for as a result of they put in a provision in the invoice that you could't make any modifications to your Medicaid program,” he stated.

The federal package deal, which President Donald Trump signed into regulation on March 18, set aside $6.7 billion in Federal Medical Help Percentages for New York. That quantity included $5.3 billion for the state, $1 billion for New York City and $436 million for counties, in accordance with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's office.

The state Division of Finances, nevertheless, tasks the enhanced FMAP price would only quantity to $3.4 billion yearly, spokesperson Freeman Klopott stated.

“I can’t converse to their numbers,” he stated when asked about the discrepancy.

Local officers have referred to as on Cuomo to simply accept the enhanced FMAP dollars, noting that they can't pull down their share of the funding without the governor’s approval.

“The governor must weigh, is it within the state’s greatest interest to obtain $6.7 billion versus what he was projecting to reform the Medicaid program about?” Stephen Acquario, government director of the New York State Affiliation of Counties, informed POLITICO. “The MRT was slated to deal with $2.5 billion. He has to make a policy choice: Is it in one of the best interest? Or is it within the state’s greatest interest to simply accept the money and defer the MRT II until after the Covid-19 crisis is over with?”

Robert Mujica, Cuomo’s price range director, told MRT members on March 19 that the state meant to use a portion of the improved federal Medicaid matching fee dollars it's set to obtain underneath the congressional spending package deal to “soften the sides” and delay a few of the panel’s suggestions that shouldn't be carried out instantly as a result of of the coronavirus outbreak.

“We’re going to make use of the FMAP dollars to soften the sides of these suggestions, delay the suggestions, but once we get to the other aspect of this, we would like a Medicaid program that really works,” Klopott stated this week. “And these recommendations assist to inform how we move forward with the Medicaid program past the one-time revenues that we may be getting from the federal authorities.”

The MRT II has proposed a redefined Medicaid international cap, a 60-month look-back interval for home- and community-based care eligibility and increased across-the-board reductions, among different things.

Src: Cuomo threatens to reject $6.7B in federal aid in favor of Medicaid redesign
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