Government
New laws in Washington state aim to boost access and quality
■ Better Medicaid reimbursements for some services won't solve access problems but will help, the state medical association says.
By Doug Trapp — Posted May 28, 2007
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Washington -- Two bills signed by Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire lay the groundwork for health reform and raise Medicaid reimbursements for physicians.
Doctors will receive a 48%, $18.8 million increase for 24 pediatric Medicaid services and a 12%, $5.7 million boost for 10 adult Medicaid services, under budget legislation Gregoire signed in mid-May.
Although that won't solve the access problems Washington Medicaid patients are having, it will help, said W. Hugh Maloney, MD, president of the Washington State Medical Assn. and an internist in Kent. These increases target basic evaluation and management services, he said.
The state's Medicaid program reimburses at about half the rate of Medicare, Dr. Maloney said.
Gregoire also signed a bill earlier this month designed to boost health care access and quality. The new law includes a health insurance pool for small businesses with lower-income employees and a panel to study its expansion to other groups. It also creates a pilot electronic medical records program and calls for a five-year plan to link public program reimbursement for physicians to outcomes and evidence-based standards. Other provisions call for a reinsurance program to cover enrollees' health costs beyond a normal plan's limits and require health plans to cover dependents to age 25.
The legislation was influenced by Gregoire's Blue Ribbon Commission on Health Care Costs and Access. Its final report, released in January, contained 16 recommendations focused on bringing universal access to children by 2010 and to all adults by 2012. Its suggestions included better reimbursements, transparent health care pricing, an insurance pool with a choice of plans and other public/private reforms. Unlike the commission's recommendations, the law doesn't specify deadlines for universal care.
Gregoire "espoused an agenda of incremental changes," Dr. Maloney said. WSMA supports the law and the commission's recommendations, and would like the Legislature to act on them in the future.
Washington has about 593,000 uninsured, including 73,000 children, according to the commission.
