Situation Report | December 27, 2021
The state Department of Health issued the Medicaid Global Spending Cap Report (April through September 2021 Quarterly Report) on December 21, 2021. According to the Report, the Medicaid Global Spending Cap increased from $19.9 billion in Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 to $22.3 billion in FY2022, a net increase of $2.4 billion.
This net increase primarily includes the Global Cap index growth of $580 million (based on the 2.9 percent trend of the ten-year rolling average of the Medical Care Consumer Price Index [CPI]), increased costs for minimum wage rate adjustments of $369 million, and the year-to-year decline of COVID-19 enhanced Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (eFMAP) support of $1.2 billion.
Major changes to Medicaid spending, as reflected in the Mid-Year Financial Plan Update, include the extension of the COVID-19 public health emergency eFMAP benefit, the resulting costs associated with persistently elevated enrollment and delayed MRT II savings, attributable to the Federal Center of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Maintenance of Effort (MOE) guidelines restricting program restructuring efforts, and increased support to financially distressed hospital providers.
These impacts are accounted for separately in the Financial Plan and do not result in an adjustment to the Global Cap.
Read the Report.