Physicians join California Legislators and We Care For California Coalition to Reignite Medi-Cal Legislation, Reduce Health Care Inequality March 4, 2015 Advocacy, Medi Cal, Payment Ed Hernandez, SB 243, AB 366, Medi-Cal reimbursement, Rob Bonta, We Care for California, WeCare4CA 0 Physicians, health care workers, and patients joined legislators at the state Capitol to call attention to California's very low Medi-Cal reimbursement rates and its negative impact on access-to-care. Senate Health Committee Chair Ed Hernandez and Assembly Health Committee Chair Rob Bonta introduced legislation to repeal the 10% cut to Medi-Cal reimbursement and propose Medi-Cal payments to be on par with Medicare rates. “Expanding access to health care coverage, as we have done under the ACA, is a significant accomplishment but in order to truly be revolutionary that coverage must be accompanied by meaningful access to a provider,” said Senator Hernandez. “Unfortunately, millions of Californians in the Medi-Cal program lack that access because we pay providers an embarrassingly low rate. A Medi-Cal card needs to be more than an empty promise.” In 2011, Medi-Cal payment rates to doctors, hospitals, dentists and other providers were cut by 10% as a way to balance the state’s budget. As a result, California now has one of the lowest payment rates in the country but covers more than 12 million patients. One in three Californians, as a result of expanded eligibility under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), are on Medi-Cal. “Health care should be a right and not a privilege. AB 366 and SB 243 are critical steps toward ensuring that the health care coverage millions have signed up for is meaningful and actually provides real access to quality health care,” said Assemblymember Rob Bonta. “As physicians, we want to provide care to patients and especially to the poorest and most vulnerable among us,” said CMA President Luther Cobb, MD. “With primary care reimbursement rates as low as they are, many physicians are forced to stop taking new Medi-Cal patients as they simply can’t keep their doors open. In areas like rural, northern California where I practice, that can mean patients have longer wait times or have to drive further to get care.” SB 243 and AB 366 would not only repeal prior year rate cuts to Medi-Cal, but would increase payments rates for inpatient hospital services and most outpatient services. The legislative proposals would also require the Department of Health Care Services to pay Medi-Cal managed care plans at the upper end of their rate range so as to ensure a more robust Medi-Cal provider network. A 2011 survey funded by the California HealthCare Foundation (CHCF) of over 1,500 Medi-Cal beneficiaries identified difficulties in finding health care providers who accept their coverage. 34% of Medi-Cal beneficiaries said it was difficult to find health care providers who accept their insurance, compared to 13% for people with other coverage. The survey found a higher percentage of adults with Medi-Cal say they have more difficulty getting appointments with specialists and primary care providers than adults with other health coverage (42% vs. 24% for specialists and 26% vs. 15% for primary care providers). Please join the San Francisco Medical Society in this effort. Get status updates by following #WeCare4CA and @SFMedSociety on Twitter. Comments are closed.
