A proposed rule by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will increase payments for primary care! This means more doctors might accept Medicaid patients. They're proposing to raise the reimbursement rates to match Medicare. Here's the proposed rule in the Federal Register.

Mental Healthcare Reform's website has the overview. Read more.

Cuts in Long Term Care will Kill Jobs and Hurt Wisconsin’s Economy

Nearly half of Wisconsin’s Medicaid budget goes to providing essential long term care services for older adults and people with disabilities.  Even though Wisconsin faces a Medicaid budget deficit of $3.7 billion for 2011 - 2013, our core values demand that services for these vulnerable citizens be preserved.

Wisconsin’s seniors numbered 700,000 in 2000, compared to a projected 1,402,000 in 2030, a 100 percent increase in the state’s senior population.  Yet, the workforce that traditionally provides direct care to older Americans (women aged 25–44) is expected to increase only slightly over the next twenty years, creating a “care gap.”  Cutting Medicaid funding, now, as the demand for care is increasing, will make it increasingly difficult for long term care providers to recruit and retain a qualified workforce that is competent to provide services.

Spending on Medicaid services fuels our state and local economies. Cuts to Medicaid will stall Wisconsin’s economy:

• For every 10% of the Medicaid budget that is cut, the state will lose 9,100 health care jobs, $394 million in income, and $30 million in state and local tax revenues
• For each dollar of state money Wisconsin cuts, $1.50 or more in federal matching funding is lost – this means that Wisconsin will see far fewer of our federal taxes dollars returning to the state
• Wisconsin loses $3 in business activity for every $1 in Medicaid that’s cut

Read more: Economic Impact of Reducing Medicaid

A solution to the Medicaid funding crisis must be found by June 30, 2011 to preserve essential services, save jobs, and keep our state and local economies viable.