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Pediatricians warn low Medicaid reimbursements force some practices to stop accepting older children
Summary
A Kansas pediatrician and the state chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics told the committee low Medicaid primary-care reimbursements have prompted at least one practice to stop accepting new Medicaid patients age 5 and older and asked for $1.6 million to raise primary-care pediatric Medicaid rates.
Dr. Tasha Vann, a pediatrician in the Kansas City metro area and member of the Kansas chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ public policy committee, told the Committee on Social Services Budget that low Medicaid reimbursement rates have forced her practice to stop taking new Medicaid patients age 5 and older.
"Late last year, I had to make the difficult decision to stop accepting Medicaid patients age 5 and up," Dr. Vann said. She said Medicaid reimburses about 60 percent of Medicare rates for primary care in Kansas and that, to be financially viable, she needs to see more patients per day than the practice’s historical benchmark. Dr. Vann asked the committee to allocate $1.6 million SGF to increase Medicaid primary-care pediatric rates, arguing the increase would be fiscally responsible and improve access for children.
The testimony reflected wider concern from pediatric providers that low payments reduce the number of physicians willing to accept Medicaid and that recruitment and retention for pediatric primary-care providers is increasingly difficult where revenue does not cover costs. Committee members asked whether a rate increase would change provider behavior; Dr. Vann said she would be willing to accept more new Medicaid patients if rates were improved and noted other partners in her practice had already limited new Medicaid enrollments.
No formal committee votes were recorded; the request will be considered in budget deliberations.
