Assembly Joint Resolution
No. 43
CHAPTER 100
Relative to federal Medicaid Assistance Percentages.
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Filed with
Secretary of State
June 28, 2002.
]
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AJR 43, Robert Pacheco.
Federal Medicaid Assistance Percentages.
This measure would memorialize the President and Congress to take into consideration the 4.4 million Californians who are living below poverty thresholds by taking into account the total number of persons living in poverty rather than the per capita income when establishing the formula that will be used for calculating the federal share of Medicaid costs under the federal Medicaid Assistance Percentages (FMAP).
Digest Key
WHEREAS, Federal Medicaid Assistance Percentages (FMAP) are recalculated annually to determine the federal share of Medicaid costs allocated to each state; and
WHEREAS, The United States Department of Health and Human Services calculates FMAP based on the United States Department of Commerce statistics of the average per capita income in each state and the nation as a whole; and
WHEREAS, The recalculation of FMAP for 2003 will reduce California’s share of federal Medicaid funds by $397 million, which will be the highest loss in the nation; and
WHEREAS, California’s per capita income grew by 8.1 percent from 1999 to 2000, the second fastest rate in the nation; and
WHEREAS, As Californians’ incomes rise, the state rate for Medicaid matching funds from the federal government declines; and
WHEREAS, Despite the growth in per capita income in California, lower income Californians often failed to experience the relative wage growth of higher income Californians; and
WHEREAS, Despite per capita income levels above the national average, California has both high levels of income and poverty; and
WHEREAS, With 4.4 million people under the federal poverty thresholds, California leads the nation in residents living in poverty, and has 1.4 million more impoverished residents than Texas and 2 million more impoverished residents than New York; and
WHEREAS, FMAP calculations grew out of the Kerr-Mills Social Security Act of 1960, and predate the official definition of the poverty thresholds adopted in the late 1960s; and
WHEREAS, The authors of the Kerr-Mills Social Security Act incorrectly presumed that states with high per capita incomes would have low poverty, and vice versa; and
WHEREAS, California is already facing daunting budget cuts due to the state’s deficit, making it even more difficult for the state to absorb and offset these federal reductions; and
WHEREAS, The Medi-Cal program faces severe underfunding due to these factors not being taken into account; and
WHEREAS, There is a critical need to protect the health of millions of low-income families and individuals that depend on health programs like Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, by the Assembly and Senate of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California memorializes the President and Congress of the United States to consider the 4.4 million Californians who are living below poverty thresholds by taking into account the total number of persons living in poverty rather than the per capita income when establishing the formula that will be used in the calculation of the FMAP; and be it further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States, and to the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services.