Medicaid and Primary Care

Attached a link to an article written by John Dorschner titled "Florida will pay Medicaid docs at new Obamacare rate" highlighting that Governor Scott's administration finally relented and, starting Jan. 1, Florida will begin paying Medicaid primary care doctors at new, higher rates required by the federal Affordable Care Act, a state spokeswoman said. The law requires that for the next two years Medicaid must pay primary care doctors at higher rates. According to a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, Florida primary care doctors in 2008 were paid 55 percent of Medicare rates, meaning a $50 payment would be increased to $90 under the new system. That's indeed good news for all of us, primary care doctors and patients alike. In my case I re-enrolled as a Medicaid provider because more and more of my patients qualified for Medicaid and wanted to continue their care with me. Now, I can afford treating them without loosing money. A great victory for common sense!! But we also have to start demonstrating that this investment into preventive care and chronic disease management will save precious healthcare dollars by decreasing hospital admissions and emergency room utilization rates. That requires the implementation of new care delivery systems such as Patient Centered Medical Homes. I am confident that we can achieve these goals. Happy Thanksgiving Yours Bernd