A couple weeks ago, we blogged about a new CMS rule that will raise Medicaid payment rates for primary care physicians. The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) released a statement supporting the new rule but wants only primary care physicians, and not subspecialists (general internal medicine, pediatric medicine, etc.), to benefit. An excerpt:
In the proposed rule, CMS says it is interested in ensuring primary care physicians receive the benefit of the increased payment, a goal shared by the AAFP, Goertz says. However, he notes, the AAFP disagrees with a part of the proposed rule that would allow subspecialists to also qualify for the increased Medicaid payment. Inclusion of subspecialists is not the intent of the law adds Goertz, and including them would perpetuate existing disparities in physician payment rates.
Goertz points out that states will receive $11 billion in new funds in 2013-2014 to increase their Medicaid payments to Medicare levels. But this funding boost is only temporary, promoting concerns from the AAFP that allowing subspecialists to qualify for the bonus will add extra costs to the program.
The AAFP believes raising payment rates for subspecialists would exacerbate the primary physician shortage.