By Sophia Duong
In a previous post, I summarized the initiatives taken by Congress and states to extend the payment rate increase for primary care services, set to expire on December 31, 2014. At the time, six states were reported to finance the primary care bump through 2015 with their own state funds. Now, Kaiser Family Foundation’s recently released 50-State Medicaid Budget Survey for FY 2014 and FY 2015 finds that 15 states intend to keep the primary care rate increase, even if just partially.
Alaska, Alabama, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, and South Carolina (this list includes the original six) intend to continue reimbursing primary care services at an increased rate. Interestingly, Alaska, Alabama, Maine, Mississippi, Nebraska, and South Carolina have not expanded Medicaid. Kaiser’s survey also provides examples of how states will continue the rate bump: proportionate increases for all primary care physicians, only continuing the rate increase temporarily, or targeting certain types of primary care.
As for the rest of the states, the survey reports that 24 states will not extend the primary care rate increase past its expiration, and 12 states are undecided. The undecided states are still trying to determine the effectiveness of the rate bump. While it’s still too early for empirical evidence, Dr. Marsha Raulerson, a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, provided insight on the impact of the rate bump in Alabama, a state where 22 percent of enrolled primary care physicians receive 90 percent of all Medicaid claims payment. Dr. Raulerson spoke with several pediatricians who are using the payment increases to better serve their patients through recruiting more pediatricians, increasing support staff, and finally being able to upgrade computers and office equipment. Dr. Raulerson encouraged national leaders to follow Alabama’s example in continuing the primary care bump, stating: “A child in Alabama should have the same opportunity to receive good care as a child in Texas or Rhode Island. If our national leaders follow Alabama’s example, children will be better off for it.”
