by Jim Copeland
If I had three wishes from the proverbial genie in the bottle, I would use one of them to know the results of the current legislative session. Once I had the answer to that question, I would use the other two. For those of you who just returned from your winter trip to Mars or somewhere, New Mexico is in the middle of a budget crisis. There are no definitive answers to the myriad of questions that are circulating in the Roundhouse. There is hope and speculation that the President’s economic stimulus package will include the increased funding for the Medicaid program that will in turn generate some $1.5 billion for New Mexico.
If I had three wishes from the proverbial genie in the bottle, I would use one of them to know the results of the current legislative session. Once I had the answer to that question, I would use the other two. For those of you who just returned from your winter trip to Mars or somewhere, New Mexico is in the middle of a budget crisis. There are no definitive answers to the myriad of questions that are circulating in the Roundhouse. There is hope and speculation that the President’s economic stimulus package will include the increased funding for the Medicaid program that will in turn generate some $1.5 billion for New Mexico.
I have been told the budget deficit figure changes almost on a daily basis. Apparently, there are no areas of expense that are safe from the potential budget axe. The Medicaid and State General Fund programs each face their own “cost containment” measures. Cost containment is the politically correct way of saying “budget cuts”. The $10 million appropriated during the Special Session to reduce the DD Waiver waiting list, at last report, is safe. Please know and understand, until the Session is over and the Governor has signed, not signed, or vetoed legislation, no money is guaranteed safe.
These are critical times. Funding for all programs is in peril. I have heard the legislature is pinning some of their hopes to the federal Medicaid funding proposals. You will hear about something called the Federal Medicaid Assistance Percentage (FMAP). The FMAP compares each state’s per capita income to U.S. per capita income and provides higher reimbursements to states with lower per capita incomes. The statutory minimum FMAP is 50% and the maximum is 83%. The lower the FMAP, the more money a state has to spend to draw down the federal match. An FMAP of 50% means a state has to spend 50 cents to get the matching 50cents from the federal government. New Mexico’s FMAP for 2009 is currently scheduled at 70.88%. This means New Mexico has to spend 29.12 cents to draw down 70.88 cents from the feds. The current Medicaid proposals would increase New Mexico’s FMAP. This means we would have to spend less in state dollars to draw down more federal dollars. In times of economic crisis, this sounds like a good deal to me. However, the federal proposal is limited to a two year increase. Any growth in the system or services would have to be sustainable with the expiration of the two year provision.
While nothing is guaranteed, I can guarantee that e-mails, phone calls, personal visits, and letters to your State and Federal elected officials do not go unnoticed. These are the folks who will ultimately decide the future of our services. Unless someone reading this has a genie in their pocket, I would encourage you to contact your officials and relate to them the impact that budget cuts or reductions in services will have on your families.
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