Medicaid Bump Act
Sponsored By: Senator Tina Smith
Introduced
Summary
This bill would create a 90% federal match for increases in Medicaid spending on behavioral health services above a 2019 baseline. It would push states to expand capacity, raise payment rates, and stabilize the behavioral health workforce while keeping extra funds tied to specific delivery improvements.
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- Families and providers: Would encourage states to expand access to mental health and substance use treatment and to raise provider payment rates. That could increase capacity and help reduce staff turnover.
- States: Would cover 90% of incremental quarterly Medicaid expenditures for behavioral health services that exceed a fixed baseline set by the four quarters ending March 31, 2019. The enhanced match would apply to services under state plans and waivers for calendar quarters beginning the January 1 one year after enactment.
- Accountability and oversight: States must use the funds to supplement, not supplant, existing state behavioral health spending and focus on delivery-improvement activities. The Secretary of Health and Human Services must issue guidance within 180 days and report annually to Congress on payment rates, the rationale for those rates, and utilization.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
1 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Higher Medicaid match for behavioral health
If enacted, the bill would pay states an extra federal match for Medicaid behavioral health services. States would receive 90% of each quarter's spending that is above the matching quarter from the 4-quarter period ending March 31, 2019. Payments would apply to calendar quarters beginning on or after January 1 of the year after the bill is enacted. To get the money, states would need to use it to increase capacity, quality, or provider payment rates and must supplement, not supplant, state funds for programs in effect on April 1, 2021. The Department of Health and Human Services would issue guidance within 180 days saying which services count for the extra match.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Tina Smith
MN • D
Cosponsors
There are no cosponsors for this bill.
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
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