In the context of Medicaid financing, donations are money that is “voluntarily” donated to the state government by hospitals and other health providers who receive payments from Medicaid. The money is used by the state for matching with the federal government Medicaid funds. On the average, nearly 60% of a state’s Medicaid costs are picked up by the federal matching money, but in some states, the federal share is 80%. In states with 80% matching, one dollar from the state draws $4.00 from the federal level, and thus one dollar of donation from a hospital, for example, will bring it back $5.00. In some states, a special tax is levied on providers, hospitals and others, rather than asking for or permitting the voluntary donations. Both the donation programs and the special tax programs have been under scrutiny, and criticized as “scams.” The Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) has been working to regulate these practices.