Examining Medicaid and CHIP’s Federal Medical Assistance Percentage

MACPAC executive director Anne L. Schwartz testified at a February 2016 House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Health Subcommittee hearing on the role of the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP). FMAP is the statutory formula that determines the federal share of Medicaid spending. In addition to discussing FMAP’s fundamental role in federal and state Medicaid spending, MACPAC’s testimony pointed to congressional and regulatory exceptions to FMAP that support various policy objectives. The testimony also noted that the formula has been criticized for providing disincentives for the efficient use of federal funds.