Medicaid's increased primary care payments take effect

Primary care and related subspecialty physicians participating in their state's Medicaid program will receive enhanced payments for designated services beginning in 2013.

Participating physicians should contact their state Medicaid office immediately to find out how to fulfill the “attestation” requirement. The increased payments, which are at least equivalent to payments under Medicare, are fully funded for 2013 and 2014 by the federal government to encourage physician participation in Medicaid. The Kaiser Family Foundation recently released a policy brief that includes a chart reflecting the estimated percent increase in payment for each state. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) also recently released a series of FAQs pertaining to this enhanced payment provision.