Final FY 2010 Fourth Quarter ARRA FMAPs

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA; P.L. 111-5) contained provisions that increase Medicaid grants to states for 27 months by increasing their Federal Medical Assistance Percentages (FMAPs), the share of state programs paid by the federal government. A recently enacted law (P.L. 111-226) provides a two-quarter extension, from January 1, 2011-June 30, 2011, of the increased FMAPs included in ARRA. The new law also modifies the calculation of the fourth quarter ARRA FMAPs for federal fiscal year (FY) 2010 (July 1, 2010-September 30, 2010) and the first quarter ARRA FMAPs for FY 2011 (October 1, 2010-December 31, 2010). This Issue Brief estimates the final fourth quarter FMAPs based on the new law and final state unemployment data for June 2010 published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on August 20, 2010. Issue Brief 10-32 provides a detailed analysis of the ARRA FMAP extension.