DOH Distributes $323 Million in Enhanced Federal Medicaid Funds
Today (June 25th), Governor Cuomo and the New York State Department of Health (DOH) announced the distribution of over $323 million in Medicaid funding to New York City and counties across the state. The funds reflect six months of the enhanced Federal Medicaid Assistance Percentage (FMAP) enacted in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), the second federal COVID-19 aid bill. The FFCRA provided states with a temporary 6.2 percent FMAP increase for Medicaid services currently funded at the base FMAP for each quarter in which the COVID-19 emergency continues. In New York, local governments fund about $8 billion per year of the Medicaid program, or roughly 12 percent.
According to DOH’s breakdown of the estimated funding distributions (available here), New York City will receive approximately $200.6 million, while the rest of the state will receive approximately $122.4 million distributed by county. These estimated funding allocations may be subject to future changes in federal guidance.
Governor Cuomo Announces Joint Incoming Travel Advisory with New Jersey and Connecticut
On June 24th, Governor Cuomo held a press conference with Governor Phil Murphy of New Jersey and Governor Ned Lamont of Connecticut during which they announced a joint travel advisory that requires all individuals traveling from states with significant community spread of COVID-19 to quarantine for 14 days. The criteria for determining if a state has significant community spread of COVID-19 is as follows:
- A positive test rate above 10 per 100,000 residents over a 7-day rolling average; or
- A state with 10 percent or higher positivity rate over a 7-day rolling average.
Any violation of a quarantine or isolation order pursuant to this travel advisory may result in penalties of up to $10,000. The New York State Department of Health has also issued guidance (available here) for quarantine restrictions on travelers, which indicates that individuals passing through states that meet the criteria for a limited duration of time during the course of travel are not required to quarantine. The guidance also provides requirements to safely quarantine and exemptions for first responders and essential workers under certain circumstances.
The press release is available here. The Governor’s Executive Order is available here.
During the press conference, the Governor also announced continued progress in efforts to combat the COVID-19 emergency, with the following five regions on track to enter Phase Four of reopening this Friday: Central New York, Finger Lakes, Mohawk Valley, North Country, and Southern Tier. Of the 67,642 COVID-19 tests performed yesterday, 749 (1.1 percent) were positive. Total hospitalizations fell to 996 yesterday, the lowest since March 18th, while the number of deaths remained steady with 17 COVID-19 fatalities reported yesterday.
Updated Guidance Documents
Recently released New York State and City guidance documents are listed below:
- Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C): Guidance for Ambulatory Care Providers (6.24.20)
- COVID-19 Updates – Health Inequities (6.23.20)
- A Checklist for Expanding Outpatient Practices During COVID-19 (6.20.20)
- Provision of Services to Students with Disabilities During Statewide School Closures Due to COVID-19 – Supplement #3 (6.20.20)
- Provision of Services to Students with Disabilities During Statewide School Closures due to COVID-19 – Supplement #2 (6.20.20)