[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 21 (Tuesday, February 25, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E310]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                FAIRNESS IN MEDICAID FUNDING ACT OF 1997

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                         HON. KAREN L. THURMAN

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 25, 1997

  Mrs. THURMAN. Mr. Speaker, today, I join in a bipartisan manner with 
several of my Florida colleagues to introduce the Fairness in Medicaid 
Funding Act of 1997. For too long Federal Medicaid dollars have been 
directed away from States with high poverty rates. Instead, States with 
low poverty rates have been able to use Federal dollars to finance a 
significant portion of their program, without added costs to their 
taxpayers. The Medicaid match formula is meant to alleviate this 
discrepancy; instead, it aggravates it. The formula used to calculate 
how Medicaid dollars are allocated is currently based upon a State's 
per capital income rather than the number of people in poverty.
  The Congressional Budget Office has produced increasingly optimistic 
numbers concerning the rate of growth of expenditures in the Medicaid 
Program, which may stall more comprehensive reform this year. 
Therefore, we must act to fix the unfair basic formula that drives the 
current system.
  The Fairness in Medicaid Funding Act changes the way we calculate the 
Federal match to better reflect the true goals of the Medicaid Program. 
Under this act, the formula will be recalculated to take into account 
the number of people in poverty in a State as well as a State's ability 
to finance program services from State revenues using the State's total 
taxable resources.
  According to the General Accounting Office, ``a formula using better 
indicators of States' financing capacities and poverty rates * * * 
would more equitably distribute the burden state taxpayers face in 
financing Medicaid benefits for low-income residents.'' Based upon the 
GAO's recommendation, my bill makes the system more fair for 
beneficiaries, States, and taxpayers.
  Enact the Fairness in Medicaid Funding Act of 1997 and help Medicaid 
do the job it was intended to do.

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