Doctors see steep cut in federal Medicaid reimbursements

Just as millions of people across the country are gaining insurance through Medicaid, the program is making deep cuts in payments to many doctors, prompting some physicians and consumer advocates to warn that the reductions could make it more difficult for Medicaid patients to obtain care (Source: “As Medicaid Rolls Swell, Cuts in Payments to Doctors Threaten Access to Care,” New York Times, Dec. 28, 2014). 

The Affordable Care Act provided a big increase in Medicaid payments for primary care in 2013 and 2014. But the increase expired on Dec. 31— just weeks after the Obama administration told the Supreme Court that doctors and other providers had no legal right to challenge the adequacy of payments they received from Medicaid.

A new report from the Urban Institute estimates that fees for ACA primary care physicians in Ohio will decrease by 44.9 percent in Ohio.

A survey by the Ohio State Medical Association found that some Ohio doctors began accepting Medicaid patients because of the rate increase in 2013. Ohio doctors who were already participating in the program said they had accepted more Medicaid patients after the rate increase. And almost 40 percent of Ohio doctors indicated that they planned to accept fewer Medicaid patients when the extra payments lapsed.