July 14, 2021

The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021 was signed into law on March 11, 2021. Section 9817 of ARPA provides states with a temporary ten (10) percentage point increase to the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) for Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS), if certain federal requirements are met. States must use funds equivalent to the amount of federal funds attributable to the increased FMAP to implement activities that enhance or strengthen Medicaid HCBS. The Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) submitted an initial spending plan to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on July 12, 2021.

The plan Texas submitted is contingent upon federal clarification on outstanding questions.vTexas proposes to use state general revenue to fund projects to:

  • Support providers of HCBS and community-based long-term services and supports (LTSS);
  • Support recipients in HCBS programs; and
  • Enhance and strengthen the HCBS infrastructure in Texas.

Please join HHSC on Thursday, July 15 at 10:00 a.m. for a webinar with stakeholders. HHSC staff will provide information about the contents of the plan, next steps, and answer stakeholder questions. Register here to join the webinar(link is external).

Read the ARPA HCS Funding Plan (PDF).