A panel of lawmakers at the Capitol was told today that even though the federal government gave every indication that “the check is in the mail”–a check for $245 million, due for delivery next year, might not be en route after all.

At issue is what’s called “Enhanced FMAP” dollars, meaning federal stimulus funding parceled out to the states for funding low-income health care atop the traditional 50-50 federal-state split in Medicaid funding.  The state will receive the extra money for the first half of the 2010-2011 fiscal year, but the money for 2011 has not yet been authorized by Congress, and some say federal lawmakers are now dragging their feet on the enhanced FMAP authorization.  Without the payout from the feds, Colorado will be liable for $245 million in Medicaid spending in 2011.  However, the money has already been spent, in a budgetary sense, in the 2010-2011 fiscal year for other programs.

Fiscal analyst Melodie Beck quickly boiled it down for lawmakers  at today’s Joint Budget Committee meeting. The state’s latest quarterly economic forecast, she said, while incrementally better, shows that the state’s economy has not yet fully recovered indicating that a $245 million shortfall is indeed significant.

“We’ve budgeted money from Congress that we may not get,” said Beck.

Lawmakers, along with Gov. Bill Ritter, during the 2010 legislative session, balanced the 2010-2011 budget on the assumption that Congress would reauthorize the enhanced FMAP dollars.  Not all lawmakers were comfortable with spending money in Colorado that was not guaranteed and that was part of the federal bailout of the economy.

The GOP’s Rep. Kent Lambert of Colorado Springs, a member of the budget committee while the 2010-2011 budget was being crafted, said that the state probably should not have relied on the federal dollars in the first place although he said he understands why the committee moved forward with the budget, propped up in part by the federal money.

“The assumption was made, understandably so, that Congress would pass the extension of the enhanced FMAP dollars.  That hasn’t happened yet and it looks like it might not happen,” said Lambert.  “Bottom line though is that it was not appropriated money by the federal government and we shouldn’t be developing a budget on money that is not appropriated.”

The governor has the authority to reduce spending during the fiscal year, and the legislature could introduce legislation when it convenes in January to address the $245 million shortfall if it so chooses, according to legislative council staff.

Lambert says that although it’s not apparent in current revenue trends, there is a slight possibility that the money will be there when needed from more homegrown sources than the federal government—an increase of revenue in Colorado.

“Even though we budgeted to the FMAP money we don’t even know what the revenue will be when the time comes,” said Lambert