by Donald Eng CTNewsJunkie
HARTFORD, CT — Dozens of healthcare providers descended on the Legislative Office Building Thursday, with a united message: increase Medicaid reimbursement rates.
“It’s time for the state to meet the needs of its Medicaid program, which underpins the structure of healthcare in Connecticut, and ensure it is paying fairly for the care provided to patients by all caregivers, including at hospitals,” said Jennifer Jackson, CEO of the Connecticut Hospital Association. “It is imperative that we collaborate to fortify the healthcare delivery system here in Connecticut, advancing policies that drive the achievement of quality, equity, affordability, and accessibility goals.”
Medicaid is a program that provides health coverage to millions of Americans, including low-income families, children, and people with disabilities. It is administered by the states under federal guidelines. On Thursday, 59 residents, including state hospital officials, EMS providers, physicians, and others, signed up to testify before the legislature’s Appropriations Committee on House Bill 7254, which would require a report on Medicaid rates.
Deirdre Flannery, the senior director of traditional Medicaid at Quest Diagnostics, told the committee that lab testing historically has operated in the background and can be overlooked.
“Diagnostic testing is critical to preventative healthcare, treatment identification and recovery, and reconsideration of the disparate payment rules for independent laboratories would provide critical support to the industry,” she said. She urged the committee to pass the bill, and align Connecticut Medicaid fees with what she called its peer states of Maine, New York, and Oregon.
Lab tests, Flannery said, are the first step in comprehensive care and inform 70% of clinical decision-making.
“And while these tests are critical to patient care, they account for less than 3% of total health care spending,” she said.
Sabrina Trocchi, the president and CEO of Wheeler Health, a federally qualified health center that provides services to about 48,000 children, families, and adults each year. About 70% of clients rely on Medicaid, she said.
The state’s Medicaid rates for community health centers were set in 2002 and have received the minimal annual adjustment required by federal law. Compared to Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, and New Jersey, Connecticut’s rates are 75% of the other five.
On average, she said, Connecticut health centers lose $85 on every Medicaid medical visit and $121 on every Medicaid dental visit.
“By federal law, we are required to see all people who need assistance,” she said. “Connecticut’s health centers can no longer subsidize the state’s Medicaid program.”
Though most of the speakers supported the measure, a handful spoke against it.
Andrea Barton Reeves, the commissioner of the state Department of Social Services, shared the results of the department’s most recent rate study.
“The rate study found that a consistent schedule for rate reviews was absent, with rate increases typically given to provider groups that had better lobbying efforts or were able to secure funding through legislative channels,” she said. “As a result of the rate study, the Department is developing a rate evaluation schedule that will provide predictable and consistent reviews of Medicaid reimbursement levels.”
As written, she said the proposed bill does not allow “predictable rate evaluation process as recommended in the Medicaid rate study.”
And so, while she said the department appreciates the bill’s intent, “the Department cannot support this bill as written.”
Jeffrey Beckham, secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, also provided testimony opposing the bill.
He cited language in the proposal that called for Medicaid reimbursement to be increased every five years to ensure equality among providers.
“We are fundamentally opposed to putting in statute language that obligates future legislatures,” he said.