The temporary increase in federal Medicaid payments expired June 30, but Sens. John D. Rockefeller (D-WV) and Gordon Smith (R-OR) plan to introduce legislation in early July to extend the temporary increase in federal Medicaid payments. The bill would call for another 15 months and $6 billion of federal fiscal relief to states.

The Federal Medical Assistance Percentages went down in every state’s Medicaid program July 1, the amount varies from state to state.

Congress gave the states $20 billion in fiscal relief in 2003, including $10 billion for state Medicaid programs. In May 2003, however, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Don Nickles (R-OK) said the $10 billion increase in federal Medicaid payments was a temporary commitment and not a “new revenue-sharing program.”