Medicaid Financing: An Overview of the Federal Medicaid Matching Rate (FMAP)

A new paper provides an overview of the Federal Medicaid Assistance Percentage (FMAP), the formula which is used to determine the federal government's share of the cost of covered services in state Medicaid programs. It also reviews the various temporary changes to the FMAP formula that have taken place over the history of the Medicaid program. Beginning in 2014, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) establishes highly enhanced FMAPs for the cost of services to low-income adults.