President Obama Releases Budget Outline
Following his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama released an outline of his federal budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2011, which begins October 1. The budget does not include any Medicare cuts for skilled nursing facilities or other providers, as the budget is premised on the expectation that health care reform (which contains those cuts) will pass. Presumably if comprehensive reform legislation does not pass, the Medicare cuts will re-surface in the budget process. President Obama’s budget does, however, include an extension of the enhanced federal Medicaid matching (FMAP) payments that are currently slated to end December 31, 2010. The FMAP extension, which amounts to $25 billion, is part of the “jobs” bill that passed the House of Representatives in December. The Senate has not yet acted on the legislation, but a Senate bill could move as early as next week. It is not clear if the FMAP extension will be part of the Senate measure. The FMAP extension would be very beneficial to Ohio, as the state would receive more than $500 million in added federal funding. If additional federal funding becomes available, OHCA is asking that the SNF franchise permit fee (bed tax) be rolled back, as the revenue generated by the fee will no longer be needed.