---

Published: January 2010

Health care bill should adopt Medicaid payment parity

Coalition: Medicaid

In a letter to Congressional leaders, Consumer Action asked that legislators working on the health care reform bill to adopt a provision to bring Medicaid reimbursement rates for primary care in line with comparable Medicare rates within four years.

As you craft the final health care reform bill, the undersigned organizations urge you to ensure meaningful access to care under the proposed Medicaid expansion by adopting the House provision to bring Medicaid reimbursement rates for primary care in line with comparable Medicare rates within four years.  

While we strongly support expanding Medicaid to extend health coverage to low income individuals, we are very concerned that failure to address reimbursement disparities will weaken an already fragile network of Medicaid providers at a time when the demand for their services will be growing.  

Medicaid rates average just 66% of Medicare rates for primary care services and are woefully inadequate to cover the cost of providing care.  According to the Congressional Budget Office, the planned expansion will increase enrollment in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program by as many as 15 million beneficiaries. Those who rely on Medicaid to meet their health care needs include millions of low-income women, children, minorities and individuals with disabilities. The inadequacy of Medicaid reimbursement levels must be addressed in conjunction with the Medicaid expansion or we risk leaving our poorest and most medically-vulnerable residents behind despite the remarkable promise offered by health reform. 

Lead Organization

Families USA

Other Organizations

AFL-CIO | AFSCME | AIDS Foundation of Chicago | AIDS Project Los Angeles | AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin | AIDS/HIV Health Alternatives | American Academy of Family Physicians | American Academy of Pediatrics | American Academy of Physician Assistants | American Foundation for the Blind | American Anesthesiology Group, Inc. | American Association of People with Disabilities | American Association on Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities | American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians | American College of Osteopathic Internists | American College of Physicians | American Hospice Foundation American Network of Community Options and Resources | American Nurses Association | American Occupational Therapy Association | American Osteopathic Association | American Society of Nephrology | American Thoracic Society | APSE | Association for Community Affiliated Plans | Association of University Centers on Disabilities | Autism Society | Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law | Black Women's Health Imperative | Broward House | Burton Blatt Institute | California Medical Association | Catholic Health Association of the US | Center for Independence of the Disabled, NY | Center for Medicare Advocacy, Inc. | Cerebral Palsy Association of Ohio | Clinica Sierra Vista | Coalition of Wisconsin Aging Groups | Coalition on Human Needs 40. Committee of Interns and Residents/SEIU Healthcare 41. Community Access National Network Support for Medicaid Payment Parity 3 42. Consumer Action 43. Consumers Union 44. Council for Exceptional Children 45. Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund 46. Doctors Council SEIU 47. Doctors for America 48. Easter Seals 49. Families USA 50. Family Voices 51. Harlem United Community AIDS Center 52. Harris Center for Disability and Health Policy 53. Health Care For All (Massachusetts) 54. Health Reform Program 55. HIV Dental Alliance 56. HIV Health Services Planning Council-San Francisco 57. HIV Medicine Association 58. HIVictorious, Inc. 59. Housing Works 60. La Fe Policy Research and Education Center 61. Lutheran Services in America Disability Network 62. Mental Health America 63. MomsRising 64. National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors 65. National Alliance on Mental Illness 66. National Association of Children's Hospitals 67. National Association of Community Health Centers 68. National Association of County Human Services Administrators 69. National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners 70. National Association of People with AIDS 71. National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare 72. National Council of Jewish Women 73. National Disability Rights Network 74. National Down Syndrome Congress 75. National Health Law Program 76. National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health 77. National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty 78. National Partnership for Women & Families 79. National Patient Advocate Foundation 80. National Physicians Alliance 81. National Respite Coalition 82. National Spinal Cord Injury Association 83. National Women's Health Network 84. National Women's Law Center 85. New York Lawyers for the Public Interest 86. Northwest Health Law Advocates 87. NYC for Change 88. Out of Many, One 89. Pediatrix Medical Group 90. Planned Parenthood Federation of America Project Inform Racial and Ethnic Disparities Coalition Raising Women's Voices for the Health Care We Need Renal Physicians Association Reproductive Health Access Project RESULTS Ryan White Medical Providers Coalition San Francisco AIDS Foundation Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Society of General Internal Medicine Southern Poverty Law Center Strong Consulting Tennessee Health Care Campaign Tennessee Justice Center The AIDS Institute The Arc of the United States The National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems Treatment Access Expansion Project U.S. PIRG UHCAN Ohio United Cerebral Palsy United Spinal Association Village Care Virginia Poverty Law Center Voices for America's Children Well Spouse Association Women Together for Change | World Institute on Disability

Download PDF

No Download Available