Report: Medicaid Underpays Doctors

ALBANY — A new report shows that while New York's Medicaid program is one of the richest for patients in the country, it's second to last when it comes to the amount it pays doctors and other health care providers. That can be bad news not just for doctors who treat Medicaid patients, but for patients who may find limited Medicaid-paid care, especially in rural areas.

Since some Medicaid patients aren't able to see the same doctor with each visit, it can also be more likely that dangerous symptoms and health changes won't be spotted. "No one can provide an office and provide medical care and lose money constantly — they just can't stay in practice," Dr. Nancy Gadziala of Rochester said.

While New York has generously spent more per Medicaid enrollee — $7,500 — than nearly every other state, it performed poorly when evaluated for payments to health care providers, according to the report by Public Citizen, a nonprofit interest group. "Private physicians can't afford to see Medicaid patients," the senior vice president of the Planning and Development Institute for Urban Family Health, Maxine Golub, said. The Spitzer administration on Thursday proposed an increase in the Medicaid reimbursements paid to doctors in the 2008–09 budget.