News Release

HHS Releases First Round of Katrina Aid To 32 States To Help With Evacuee Health Cost

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt today released $1.5 billion to 32 states to help offset the medical costs of caring for thousands of Hurricane Katrina evacuees who sought refuge after the storm.

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.

�Last year, when disaster struck, President Bush promised to make states whole for the cost of caring for their neighbors,� Secretary Leavitt said. �Through the DRA, the President and Congress made good on that commitment.�

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 evacuees will receive special grants to reimburse providers who cared for those ineligible for Medicaid but still unable to pay for their medical care.

�Last year, we worked quickly with the states to set up special Medicaid coverage and funding for uncompensated care for those affected by Katrina, and the Federal funding from the Deficit Reduction Act leverages this assistance,� said CMS Administrator Mark B. McClellan, M.D., Ph.D. �Altogether, the affected states will receive over $2 billion toward their health care needs, and we will continue to work closely with them to rebuild an even better health care system.�

The special Katrina Medicaid waivers allowed states to immediately enroll qualifying evacuees into their own state Medicaid programs for five months. Benefits were given to low-income children, parents, pregnant women, the elderly, individuals with disabilities and those in need of long-term care. Applications were accepted from August 24, 2005-the date the storm hit-until January 31, 2006. States both enrolled evacuees who already had Medicaid in their home state as well as those who may not have qualified before the storm, but lost everything to it.

Evacuees received the benefit packages of their host state during the five-month temporary program.

Hurricane Katrina, which hit the Gulf states on August 29, 2005, caused widespread damage in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Select parishes and counties within those states were declared emergency areas by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Individuals and families from those areas were evacuated to the 32 states receiving funds today.

States receiving Katrina relief funds from HHS today 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.

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Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at http://www.hhs.gov/news.

Last revised: March 27, 2006