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Finance subcommittee retains HB547 to pursue multi-year repayment of retroactive FMAP funds to counties
Summary
Finance – Division 3 retained HB547 to continue negotiations and carry the bill into HB 2, after hearing county officials describe a disputed $22.5–$25 million liability the state received from enhanced FMAP payments and a proposal to repay counties in four equal annual installments.
Finance – Division 3 retained HB547 and directed staff to continue working on an HB 2 budget item to address county reimbursement of enhanced federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) funds the state received early in the COVID period, the committee chair said.
Background: committee members and county representatives described a timeline in which the federal government increased FMAP early in the public health emergency; the state received the enhanced federal share beginning in February 2020 but did not have (or act under) statutory authority to pass retroactive amounts to counties until July 1, 2021. County representatives say the state “parked” that money in a state rainy day fund instead of passing it to counties; the size of the retroactive amount in dispute was described in testimony as roughly between $22.5 million and $25 million.
What the committee discussed: the chair and county advocates recounted efforts to quantify the missed county revenue. County witnesses said they computed the exposure by applying a 12.4% FMAP change to net county claim amounts for the affected periods. County officials recommended splitting the amount the state owes into four equal payments credited to counties over four years so counties would be made whole over two budget cycles.
County testimony: David Ross, administrator of a county nursing home, and Charles Nickerson, senior finance director for Rockingham County, both testified on behalf of the New Hampshire Association of Counties. Ross and Nickerson confirmed the county association’s support for a multi‑year payback proposal. A county witness corrected the committee’s initial timeline: the public health emergency treatment of FMAP began in February (not January) of 2020; the correction in distribution occurred July 1, 2021.
Fiscal note and next steps: staff distributed a fiscal note during the hearing and acknowledged it contained errors where county expenditures should be reflected as county revenue; staff agreed to correct typographical problems as the bill is moved into HB 2. The chair asked the members for a show of hands and recorded that Division 3 would retain HB547 and work with Division 1 to draft HB 2 language reflecting the proposed four‑year repayment schedule.
Action taken: HB547 retained for further drafting and budget work; committee signaled the intent to pursue a four‑installment repayment plan to credit counties for the retroactive enhanced FMAP revenue.
