SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today issued the following statement after the U.S. House of Representatives voted to extend the temporary enhanced Federal Medicaid Assistance Payment (FMAP) for states:
“The need for this federal funding is critical to California. This is also a simple matter of fairness. For too long, California taxpayers have been shortchanged by the federal government in several programs, including our Medicaid matching rate, and this funding is a good down payment on what we are owed. I applaud the House for quickly passing this important legislation.”
The U.S. Senate passed the extension last week. The bill will provide $1.28 billion to California for the 6-month extension of enhanced FMAP rates. The President’s budget originally included a full 6-month extension of FMAP, which was estimated to bring approximately $1.8 billion for California, and the Governor and his Administration will continue to work with Congress to obtain additional funding.
