HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Submit a response Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Reisinger, A L Articles by Schwartz, A Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Reisinger, A L Articles by Schwartz, A

Medicaid physician payment reform: using the Medicare Fee Schedule for Medicaid payments.

A L Reisinger, D C Colby and A Schwartz

School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027.

OBJECTIVES. The purpose of this article is to provide estimates of the costs of basing Medicaid physician payment levels on the new resource-based Medicare Fee Schedule. Two possible policy options are considered: setting all Medicaid physician fees at the Medicare Fee Schedule level and setting only office visit fees at the new Medicare levels. METHODS. Data on Medicaid physician fees, use patterns, and the Medicare Fee Schedule are used to develop state-level estimates of expenditure changes under each option. RESULTS. Setting Medicaid rates at the Medicare Fee Schedule level could increase expenditures by $3.2 to $4.1 billion nationally; the other option would result in substantially lower increases in expenditures. Because of the current variations in Medicaid physician fees and in the breadth of eligibility across states, the cost of adopting the Medicare Fee Schedule varies considerably among states. CONCLUSIONS. Adopting the new Medicare Fee Schedule for Medicaid payments, proposed by policy-makers as a way to increase access to appropriate medical care, could double physician expenditures in some states. Adoption of more limited versions of the fee schedule might achieve some access gains at lower costs.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				R. M. Ulli Resident Selection in a Connecticut Nursing Home: A Hew from within J Aging Health, February 1, 1995; 7(1): 139 - 159. [Abstract] [PDF]