The U.S. Senate passed a bill Wednesday that would extend the 30 percent Medicaid cap increase for the territories through the third quarter of fiscal year 2011, according to a statement from Delegate Donna Christensen. Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act federal stimulus package, the cap that limited Medicaid funding to the territory was lifted by 30 percent until Dec. 2010. If the provisions in the Senate bill are enacted into law, the increase will be extended until increases in the recent U.S. health reform act take effect in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2011.
“This six-month extension is good news for the territories, because it ensures that the funding will stay in place until health care reform takes effect, providing the support that our uninsured patients and hospitals need,” said Christensen Wednesday in a statement.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has called the U.S. House of Representatives back into session next week to deal with legislation that contains the extension, Christensen said. The House bill also includes money to prevent teacher and nurse layoffs and to assist children, seniors and people with disabilities, she said.