Georgia’s ailing Medicaid program will get a $225 million boost from the federal government starting this spring that will increase payments for primary care doctors across the state.
Called for under the Affordable Care Act, the increase will raise Medicaid reimbursements for primary care physicians to the higher level paid by Medicare. Neither the Medicaid program for the low-income or federally-funded Medicare program, which covers Americans 65 and older, pay enough to cover the full cost of care.
Supporters of the effort say it will encourage more primary care doctors to accept Medicaid patients. Many Georgia doctors limit the number of Medicaid patients they see or have stopped accepting Medicaid altogether because of low reimbursements. Medicaid provides coverage for roughly 1.7 million low-income Georgians, mostly pregnant women, children, the elderly and disabled.
Though the payment increase is fully funded by the federal government for two years, Georgia’s Medicaid chief said implementing the change is expected to cost the state $270,000, though it’s difficult to estimate how much time and manpower will be needed.
The state would likely not continue the increased rate once the federal funding for it expires, said Jerry Dubberly, head of the Georgia Department of Community Health’s Medicaid division.
“I’m not sure how many states would be in a position to” continue the increased rate, Dubberly said.
Some Georgia health care providers, excluding primary care doctors and hospitals, are already facing a rate cut as the department struggles to cover a massive budget hole in Medicaid.
The department busted its budget by $32 million last fiscal year, a mistake department Commissioner David Cook has vowed not to repeat.
“This year, we are not going to overspend,” Cook said.
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