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Kilili says 83% federal Medicaid match extended
Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (D-MP) disclosed over the weekend that the federal/local matching rate for Marianas Medicaid will remain at the current 83%/17%.
Describing it as “good news,” Sablan in his e-kilili newsletter said he is thankful to the fiscal 2023 continuing resolution that the U.S. House of Representatives passed Saturday and expected to be signed shortly by President Joseph Biden.
He said the 83% federal rate, or Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP), is better than for any state.
The delegate said FMAP was set in U.S. Public Law 116-94 in 2019, extended in U.S. Public Law 117-103 earlier this year, but would have expired on Dec. 13 without the House’s action Saturday.
He said the continuing resolution runs through Dec. 16, meaning the CNMI only gained three days.
Sablan said by including CNMI’s FMAP extension, however, appropriators signal it may be part of an omnibus appropriation covering all of fiscal 2023, when Congress returns to work after the November election.
He said his congressional office has worked continually this year to make sure the need for the Medicaid extension for the Marianas was not forgotten.
“I am grateful to Speaker Pelosi and to Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Pallone and their staff for their commitment to some 38,000 people in the Marianas who depend on Medicaid for their healthcare,” Sablan said. (Ferdie de la Torre)
