As we’ve alerted you to previously, the Massachusetts Employer Medical Assistance Contribution is scheduled to sunset at the end of this year, but there is some concern that it may be extended. ERIC joined with a coalition of like-minded groups in a letter to urge the House Ways and Means Committee not to extend it beyond the December 31, 2019 sunset date. The letter describes some efficiencies that have been made in the state’s Medicaid program and notes that the state ended FY18 with a better than expected financial outlook. As such, the EMAC supplement tax should not be extended.
When the House Ways and Means Committee released its budget recommendations for Fiscal Year 2020, it did not include an extension of the EMAC Supplement tax, which is a big win for ERIC member companies. The Senate begins its budget process this month, and our coalition submitted a similar letter this week to the Senate Ways and Means Committee urging members not to extend EMAC.
We will continue our work in the Senate on this issue and keep you apprised as the budget process moves forward.