[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 816 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 816

     To provide certain temporary increases in the Federal medical 
assistance percentage (FMAP) under the Medicaid Program to help States 
   finance increases in enrollment due to rising unemployment and to 
  prevent reductions in health insurance coverage due to State budget 
                                crises.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 13, 2003

Mr. King of New York (for himself, Mr. Brown of Ohio, Mr. Houghton, Mr. 
    Dingell, Mr. LaHood, Mr. McNulty, Mr. Reynolds, Mr. Lantos, Mr. 
Pallone, Ms. Hooley of Oregon, Mr. Cardoza, Mr. Wexler, Mr. Kildee, Mr. 
Filner, Mr. Stark, Mr. Rahall, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Lipinski, Mr. Udall of 
Colorado, Mrs. Jones of Ohio, Mrs. Maloney, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Engel, Mr. 
     Grijalva, Mr. Sweeney, Mr. Meehan, Mr. Watt, Mr. Thompson of 
California, Mr. Ackerman, Mr. Capuano, Mr. Quinn, Mr. Lynch, Mr. Towns, 
  Mr. Berman, Mr. Doyle, Mr. Frank of Massachusetts, Mr. Inslee, Mr. 
 Schiff, Mr. Hinchey, Mr. Farr, Mr. Boucher, Mr. Matsui, Mrs. McCarthy 
    of New York, Mr. Pomeroy, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. Davis of Alabama, Mr. 
 Costello, Mr. Michaud, Mrs. Lowey, Mr. Tancredo, Mr. Miller of North 
Carolina, Mr. Delahunt, Mr. Evans, Mr. Allen, Mr. Israel, Mr. Kind, Mr. 
Gutierrez, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Berry, Ms. McCollum, Mr. Lucas of 
 Kentucky, Ms. Slaughter, Ms. Velazquez, Mr. Ross, Mr. Strickland, Ms. 
 DeLauro, Mr. Murtha, Mr. Crowley, Mr. Gordon, Mrs. Kelly, Mr. Reyes, 
Ms. Woolsey, Mr. Dicks, Mr. Owens, Ms. Bordallo, Mr. Rush, Mr. Nadler, 
   Ms. McCarthy of Missouri, Mr. Frost, Mr. Waxman, Mr. Holden, Mr. 
Deutsch, Mr. Bishop of New York, Mr. Emanuel, Ms. Norton, Ms. Lee, Ms. 
Linda T. Sanchez of California, Mr. Ford, Mrs. Christensen, Ms. Pelosi, 
 Mr. Etheridge, Mr. McHugh, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Mr. Green of Texas, Mr. 
   Price of North Carolina, Mr. Weiner, Mr. Foley, Mr. Boehlert, Mr. 
Mollohan, Mrs. Capps, Mr. Walsh, Mr. Pastor, Mr. McDermott, Mr. Carson 
   of Oklahoma, Ms. Millender-McDonald, Mr. Smith of Washington, Mr. 
   Rangel, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Baird, Mr. McIntyre, Mr. Serrano, Mr. 
Rodriguez, Mr. Brady of Pennsylvania, Mr. Ryan of Ohio, Ms. Solis, Mr. 
   Snyder, and Ms. DeGette) introduced the following bill; which was 
            referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To provide certain temporary increases in the Federal medical 
assistance percentage (FMAP) under the Medicaid Program to help States 
   finance increases in enrollment due to rising unemployment and to 
  prevent reductions in health insurance coverage due to State budget 
                                crises.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``State Budget Relief Act of 2003''.

SEC. 2. TEMPORARY INCREASES OF MEDICAID FMAP.

    (a) Permitting Maintenance of Fiscal Year 2002 FMAP.--
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, but subject to subsection 
(d), if the FMAP determined without regard to this section for a State 
for a covered calendar quarter (as defined in subsection (g)(1)) is 
less than the FMAP as so determined for fiscal year 2002, the FMAP for 
the State for fiscal year 2002 shall be substituted for the State's 
FMAP for each of such covered calendar quarters, before the application 
of this section.
    (b) General 2 Percentage Point Increase.--Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, but subject to subsections (d) and (e), for each 
State for each covered calendar quarter, the FMAP (taking into account 
the application of subsection (a)) shall be increased by 2 percentage 
points.
    (c) Further Increase for States With High Unemployment Rates.--
            (1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
        law, but subject to subsections (d) and (e), if a State is a 
        high unemployment State for any covered calendar quarter, then 
        the FMAP for that State for that calendar quarter and for any 
        subsequent calendar quarter in such fiscal year regardless of 
        whether the State continues to be high unemployment State for 
        that subsequent calendar quarter shall be increased (after the 
        application of subsections (a) and (b)) by 2.5 percentage 
        points.
            (2) High unemployment state.--For purposes of this 
        subsection, a State is a high unemployment State for a calendar 
        quarter if, for any 3 consecutive month period beginning on or 
        after June 2002 and ending with the second month before the 
        beginning of the calendar quarter, the State has an average 
        seasonally adjusted unemployment rate that exceeds the average 
        weighted unemployment rate during such period. Such 
        unemployment rates for such months shall be determined based on 
        publications of the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the 
        Department of Labor.
            (3) Average weighted unemployment rate defined.--For 
        purposes of paragraph (2), the ``average weighted unemployment 
        rate'' for a period is--
                    (A) the sum of the seasonally adjusted number of 
                unemployed civilians in each State and the District of 
                Columbia for the period, divided by
                    (B) the sum of the civilian labor force in each 
                State and the District of Columbia for the period.
    (d) Scope of Application.--The increases in the FMAP for a State 
under this section shall apply only for purposes of title XIX of the 
Social Security Act and shall not apply with respect to--
            (1) disproportionate share hospital payments described in 
        section 1923 of such Act; and
            (2) payments under titles IV and XXI of such Act.
    (e) State Eligibility.--A State is eligible for an increase in its 
FMAP under subsection (b) or (c) or an increase in a cap amount under 
subsection (f) only if the eligibility under its State plan under title 
XIX of the Social Security Act (including any waiver under such title 
or under section 1115 of such Act) is no more restrictive than the 
eligibility under such plan (or waiver) as in effect on September 30, 
2003.
    (f) One-Year Increase in Cap on Medicaid Payments to Territories.--
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, but subject to section (e), 
with respect to a covered calendar quarter, the amounts otherwise 
determined for Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern 
Mariana Islands, and American Samoa under subsections (f) and (g)(2) of 
section 1108 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C 1308) shall each be 
increased by 9 percent of such amounts.
    (g) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:
            (1) Covered calendar quarter.--The term ``covered calendar 
        quarter'' means the last two calendar quarters of fiscal year 
        2003 and the first two calendar quarters of fiscal year 2004.
            (2) FMAP.--The term ``FMAP'' means the Federal medical 
        assistance percentage, as defined in section 1905(b) of the 
        Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396d(b)).
            (3) State.--The term ``State'' has the meaning given such 
        term for purposes of title XIX of the Social Security Act.
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