Alaska Senators Applaud Senate Passage of Deficit Reduction Package, Alaska FMAP Fix Included
ALASKA SENATORS APPLAUD SENATE PASSAGE OF DEFICIT REDUCTION PACKAGE, ALASKA FMAP FIX INCLUDED
Saying that Alaska will continue to maintain its Medicaid Assistance matching rate, Senators Lisa Murkowski and Ted Stevens today applauded Senate passage of the 2005 Deficit Reduction Package.
The two year extension of Alaska's FMAP (Federal Medicaid Assistance Program) percentage at 57.58 percent means that the State will receive approximately an additional $130 million in federal Medicaid funding for FY06 and FY07.
"Congress has once again recognized the inequity in the Medicaid formula in Alaska by passing this important legislation," said Murkowski. "Our State's geography and limited transportation infrastructure translate into health care costs that are far higher than the rest of the country. It is extremely important that our federal programs adequately address our State's needs."
"I am pleased the Senate has passed the Deficit Reduction Act, containing provisions to help avoid drastic cuts in our Medicaid services to the neediest of Alaskans," said Stevens. "Our healthcare costs in our state are among the highest in the nation. Alaskans who are eligible for Medicaid will continue to receive the level of care they currently enjoy."
The language included in the deficit reduction bill, originally introduced by Murkowski as free standing legislation (S.159), requires the government to recognize Alaska's higher costs of medical care when dispensing federal Medicaid funds and provides a two year extension of the higher matching rate originally obtained by the Alaska Delegation in 1997.
Because it is calculated on the basis of per-capita income, the Medicaid formula does not take into consideration Alaska's high health care costs, which are caused principally by higher transportation costs. Alaska health care costs are 70 percent higher than those in states in the Lower 48. Twenty percent of Alaskans are Medicaid eligible, which is significantly higher than the national average of 12 percent.
The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 passed the Senate 51-50,with a tie breaking vote cast by Vice President Cheney.
http://murkowski.senate.gov/pressapp/record.cfm?id=250077