Issue Brief 18-11
March 23, 2018
Summary 

On March 22, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released preliminary state personal income and per capita data for 2017. The federal government uses state per capita income to calculate each state’s federal reimbursement rate—the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP)—for Medicaid and certain other grant programs. The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) uses an enhanced FMAP, which is higher than the Medicaid matching rate.

The BEA release facilitates projections of fiscal year (FY) 2020 FMAPs and enhanced FMAPs, which are based on per capita incomes for calendar years (CY) 2015-2017. FFIS estimates that FMAPs will increase in 16 states and decline in 20 states. However, these projections are based on preliminary data, and subsequent adjustments can have a large impact on final FMAPs.