Medicaid Cut Places States in Budget Bind

At least 30 states are hoping Congress will pass a six-month extension on Medicaid because most were already counting on the federal money. The New York Times reported the Medicaid provision, which would extend assistance first granted in last year’s stimulus package, was considered such a sure bet by many governors and legislative leaders that they prematurely included the money in their budgeting. But under pressure from conservative Democrats to rein in deficit spending, House leaders in late May eliminated $24 billion in aid to states from the tax and jobs bill that I have been mentioning in my recent blog posts. See http://bit.ly/9ZFptV.

The good news is that the Senate plans to take up the measure this week, and the majority leader, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, favors restoring the money. Nancy Pelosi, the House speaker, is also looking into reconsidering the appropriation of funds.

Read the full article from the New York Times here.

Kids Caught In Medicaid Pay Crossfire

From CNNMoney.com:

A kid with a fractured leg highlights the problems Dr. Jaquelin Gotlieb's pediatric practice is having with Georgia's Medicaid system.

"I needed to send the child to a pediatric orthopedic surgeon," said Gotlieb. "I couldn't find a specialist who took Medicaid. It took so long that the leg healed on its own."

Gotlieb said getting paid "fairly" by Medicaid is such a problem for Georgia's doctors that many are no longer taking new patients, or dropping patients altogether. Others, she said, are going out of business because the payments from the program don't cover their costs.

The impact on her Atlanta-area practice has been profound. Because two pediatric clinics have closed in her area, she's seeing a lot more patients.

"This is the first time in my life that I'm seeing as many as 30 patients a day," said Gotlieb. "It's an extremely high number for me."

Consequently, as the number of Medicaid patients grows at her practice, Gotlieb said she's also losing money instead of making more money.

"It's become a desperate situation for us," said Gotlieb, who says 62% of her patients are now on Medicaid. Her practice, the Pediatric Center of Stone Mountain, has already laid off one of its four doctors since January, and four other employees were let go in the past three weeks.