Government
Miss. scheduled to cut Medicaid physician pay
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Aug. 4, 2008
The Mississippi Medicaid program will cut physician pay on Aug. 6 by $15.8 million unless lawmakers break a deadlock and adopt legislation to fill a $90 million Medicaid deficit for fiscal 2009. That's between 5% and 10% for most CPT codes.
The Legislature reconvenes on Aug. 4 and is considering proposals to close the deficit through hospital tax and tobacco tax increases.
The Mississippi State Medical Assn. would accept the hospital tax, tobacco tax or a combination, said its president, J. Patrick Barrett, MD. Preventing the pay cut will be key to maintaining physician Medicaid participation, he said.
About 90% of doctors see Medicaid patients, but most restrict their numbers.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2008/08/04/gvbf0804.htm.
