Coalition urges Congress, CMS to give states 120 days before unwinding enhanced FMAP

Washington - The Partnership for Medicaid is urging Congress to provide state Medicaid agencies with a 120-day lead time before unwinding the enhanced federal medical assistance percentage and other provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.

In April 1 letters to leaders of the House and Senate and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services , the coalition - which includes the ADA - asked the legislators and federal agency to create "a predictable, transparent and evidence-informed wind down of the enhanced federal medical assistance percentage and continuous coverage provisions" that is included in the act.

"This will allow state Medicaid agencies sufficient time to transition, plan and ensure enrollees have time to re-establish their Medicaid eligibility or transition to subsidized coverage in the Affordable Care Act Marketplaces," the coalition wrote.

The organizations pointed to a recent article in the Washington Post that found millions of vulnerable Americans will likely "fall off Medicaid once the federal public health emergency ends."

"[This] illustrates why these congressional safeguards are needed to prevent as many as 16 million low-income Americans, millions of whom are children, from losing their vital coverage," the coalition wrote.

"We are encouraged by the recent guidance issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services aimed at how states can initiate Medicaid eligibility redeterminations after the public health emergency," the organizations said. "This guidance outlines several flexibilities and strategies that states can use to protect beneficiaries during the unwinding period. We encourage Congress to institute additional protections to prevent massive coverage loss."

The coalition also asked lawmakers and CMS to take any savings from unwinding the legislation and to reinvest it into the Medicaid program to strengthen it for beneficiaries.

The Partnership for Medicaid is a nonpartisan, nationwide coalition made up of organizations representing clinicians, health care providers, safety net plans and counties.

Follow all of the ADA's advocacy efforts at ADA.org/advocacy .