Congress set aside $2 billion for this purpose in the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) signed into law by President Bush February 8. The balance of the funds will be used to cover future costs for the states. In turn, this funding will allow states to claim approximately $4.5 billion in federal matching funds.
Thousands of residents of hurricane-ravaged areas of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama who lost homes, jobs and the health insurance that was connected to those jobs, needed medical care in the many states to which they fled. To help states care for these evacuees, HHS' Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the agency that oversees the Medicaid program, granted special, emergency Medicaid eligibility to hurricane victims in 32 states. While the bulk of the funds will go to state Medicaid programs, several states that took in the largest number of refugees will receive special grants to reimburse providers who cared for those ineligible for Medicaid but still unable to pay for their medical care.
States receiving Katrina relief funds from HHS include: Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Idaho, Arkansas, District of Columbia, Georgia, Tennessee, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Indiana, Maryland, Louisiana, Nevada, California, Ohio, Rhode Island, North Carolina, Wyoming, Arizona, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Iowa, Virginia, Minnesota, Montana, Utah and Wisconsin.
