VA Department Of Medical Assistance Service

The Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) is a state government entity headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, and registered with SAM.gov since June 2005. As the single state agency responsible for administering Virginia's Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP, known locally as FAMIS), DMAS provides critical healthcare administration and support services to the federal government through cooperative agreements and block grants from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The agency serves as the backbone of healthcare access for Virginia's most vulnerable populations, managing medical assistance and health coverage delivery across the state to low-income individuals, including children, pregnant women, the elderly, and persons with disabilities.

DMAS has received substantial federal grant funding across multiple CMS programs, with recent awards demonstrating the breadth and scale of its operations. The agency's primary funding mechanism consists of recurring Medicaid entitlement block grants under CFDA 93.778 (Grants to States for Medicaid), which provide billions in annual funding to support the administration of Virginia's Medicaid and CHIP programs. Beyond core Medicaid administration, DMAS has secured specialized cooperative agreements and planning grants addressing emerging healthcare challenges. Most notably, the agency received a $189.5 million Rural Health Transformation (RHT) Program Cooperative Agreement (CFDA 93.798) running through October 2030 to improve health access and outcomes for over 1.5 million rural Virginia residents through technological innovation, workforce development, and wellness initiatives. Additionally, DMAS was awarded a $4.995 million Cooperative Agreement in January 2025 for the "Succeeding Together" project, which supports compliance with the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 Section 5121 requirements to provide Medicaid and CHIP services to incarcerated youth and support their successful re-entry, leveraging partnerships with the Department of Social Services, Department of Juvenile Justice, Department of Corrections, managed care entities, and provider networks. These awards reflect DMAS's role in expanding healthcare access, implementing transformative health initiatives, and addressing specialized populations within Virginia's healthcare system.