Primary Care Provider Rate Bump Delayed July 3, 2013 Medi Cal, Payment Medi-Cal, Medi-Cal primary care provider rate, primary care provider rate hike, State Plan Amendment 0 A two-year-long federally funded rate hike for Medi-Cal primary care providers was launched in January, but that money has not yet been distributed by state officials and likely will not be paid out until the fall. The delay is caused by CMS. The California Department of Health Care Services requested a State Plan Amendment (SPA) for any rate change in March and is awaiting CMS to approve the SPA prior to implementation. The rate change, good for 2013 and 2014, elevates Medi-Cal primary care provider rates up to Medicare levels. It's designed to encourage primary care physicians to take on Medi-Cal patients. The next step in the process comes on July 22, when primary care providers will need to fill out an online provider attestation form to ensure they are eligible for Medi-Cal. DHCS anticipates implementation of the pay hike in September, with the increase retroactive to January 1. The money for primary care increases will not be the only retroactive provider payments. The state reduced Medi-Cal provider rates by 10% in 2011, and that cut was delayed by court cases—but now that the court case was decided in the state's favor, providers themselves will retroactively owe a two-year, 10% cut—pretty much negating the federal rate hike for primary care providers. Source: California Healthline, July 2, 2013. Comments are closed.
