Coleman Leads Delegation Effort to Release Medicaid Funding for Minnesota

COLEMAN LEADS DELEGATION EFFORT TO RELEASE MEDICAID FUNDING FOR MINNESOTA
Senator says CMS must act now to provide long overdue funding for Minnesota Medicaid recipients

In an effort to expedite the release of stalled Medicaid funds, Senator Norm Coleman today led his Minnesota colleagues in a delegation letter calling on Mark McClellan, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to swiftly approve a state proposal to reconcile Minnesota and federal Medicaid plans, thereby freeing up more than $300 million in federal funding to the state over the next biennium.

"We cannot expect the State of Minnesota to prepare a budget when millions of dollars in Medicaid funding and three year's worth of program changes are in question," Coleman said. "These funds and the approval of state plan amendments are needed ensure that this complex program is run efficiently and effectively for its 570,000 clients."

The Minnesota State Legislature has enacted five amendments over the past three years to meet new federal regulations tied to $140 million in annual funding for the Medicaid program, a total of $280 million for the biennium. CMS is withholding approval of those changes to the state plan because of a disagreement with the state over another $14.185 million in annual funding, which is going through the appeals process.

"It is unreasonable for CMS to withhold Medicaid funding which is critical to thousands of Minnesota families," Coleman said. "In our letter, we encouraged the Administrator of CMS to either separate the disputed funds and release the other funding or reach an agreement with the state of Minnesota."

Coleman pledged to work diligently on behalf of the 570,000 Minnesotans to secure the funding to which they are rightfully entitled. Cosigners of the letter included Minnesota Senator Mark Dayton and Congressmen Gil Gutknecht, John Kline, Jim Ramstad, Betty McCollum, Martin Olav Sabo, Mark Kennedy, Collin Peterson, and James Oberstar.

http://coleman.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&PressRelease_id=1041&Month=7&Year=2006