Saratoga, NY - Congresswoman Elise Stefanik sent a letter to Governor Andrew Cuomo urging him to immediately disburse Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) funds to county governments from the $2.5 billion that has already been provided by Congress to New York State. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act provided a temporary FMAP increase of 6.2 percent, and New York has been able to claim a greater reimbursement from the federal government for its Medicaid expenditures incurred on or after January 1st. Since the non-federal share of Medicaid expenses are split between the state and the counties, New York State is required by law to provide counties their share of the supplemental funding. Based on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) records, New York State had not drawn down any of the increased funding made available to them as of March 31st. Congressmen Pete King (NY-2) and John Katko (NY-24) also signed onto the letter.
“It is inexcusable that Governor Cuomo has failed to disburse critical FMAP funds to some of our North Country local governments – which fund our police forces, firefighters, and schools,” said Congresswoman Stefanik. “As our communities continue to face the economic turmoil caused by COVID-19, this delay in supplemental FMAP funding is unacceptable. These reimbursements deliver much-needed federal funding directly to our counties, allowing them to free up local resources to address their urgent needs. I will continue to urge Governor Cuomo to do his duty to the State of New York and disburse these funds immediately.”
Find a copy of the letter here.
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