Amata Welcomes House Passage of Medicaid Extension

Statement

Congresswoman Uifa'atali Amata welcomed an extension of American Samoa's key Federal Medicaid Assistance Percentages (FMAP) in short-term legislation to fund the federal government, which the U.S. House of Representatives passed Tuesday.

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Amata on Inauguration Day
Congresswoman Amata on Inauguration Day 2021 (file photo)

"I look forward to appropriations being put in place that continue to preserve the advances we've made in our Medicaid funding in recent years," said Congresswoman Amata. "This week, it is good news that House leaders have once again taken the advice of the bipartisan Members of Congress representing the territories, and included our current Medicaid federal match in this round of government funding."

On Monday, the four Members of Congress representing American Samoa, CNMI, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands collaborated on a letter addressed to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), Appropriations Committee Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Ranking Member Kay Granger (R-TX). Together, the Representatives from the territories urged that the established FMAP rate should continue, as it has the two most recent times federal funding was extended with a CR.

Since the beginning of 2020, American Samoa's federal match except during emergencies has been 83 percent federal and 17 percent local. That rate of federal support is the highest possible under the law, and higher than that of any of the 50 states. For many years, the rate was only 55 to 45 percent, until Congress passed new Medicaid policies in a 2019 vote.

The short-term funding legislation, H.R. 6617, is called a Continuing Resolution (CR), and it maintains current federal funding levels in place throughout 2021. The 117th Congress has historically narrow majorities, and this CR allows more time to negotiate major appropriations.

The letter to House leadership stated, "In any omnibus appropriation for Fiscal Year 2022, or such continuing resolution as may become necessary later this month, we ask that you extend the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage for the territories established in U.S.P.L. 116-94.

"Such an extension was included in Section 3105 of the current continuing resolution and its predecessor for which we are most grateful," they continued. "The FMAP agreed in U.S.P.L. 116-94 and already extended twice remains critical for delivery of Medicaid healthcare services to the people we represent in the U.S. insular areas, especially during the continuing pandemic and related economic downturn in our districts."

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