AHCCCS is hosting an online community forum on June 7 at 5 p.m. to solicit feedback from stakeholders about the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) home and community based services (HCBS) expenditure enhancement.
AHCCCS will use the feedback to submit a spending plan to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) by June 12, 2021.
Section 9817 of ARPA provides a 10 percentage point increase in federal matching funds (capped at 95 percent) to help implement or expand activities to enhance HCBS. States can use the federal funds from the increased FMAP to supplement, not supplant, existing state funds expended for Medicaid HCBS as of April 1, 2021. States must match the federal funds from the increased FMAP with state funds to implement or supplement one or more activities to enhance, expand, or strengthen HCBS under the State’s Medicaid program.
On May 13, 2021, the CMS issued State Medicaid Director Letter #21-003 to clarify the types of services that may be used to draw down enhanced federal funds, how states may reinvest funds in HCBS, and the reporting requirements for expenditures. Specifically, CMS authorizes spending on state plan benefits, waiver services, and related COVID-19 activities but will not allow matching funds for administrative expenses.
Please see the event flyer for more information on how to join the forum.
