Medicaid primary care pay raise 'coming soon,' according to CMS official

Medpage Today: CMS: Medicaid Pay Hike Plan Coming Soon
Details on increasing Medicaid payments to primary care providers starting next year will soon be announced by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the agency said Thursday. Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Medicaid rates for pediatricians, general internists, family physicians, and those who work under their supervision are to be set at Medicare's December 2009 levels beginning in Jan. 2013 and going through 2014. But during a conference call with providers to provide updates on the Medicaid changes, Cindy Mann, director of CMS' Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services, couldn't provide specifics on the pay increase. "We are in the process of finalizing that rule so that it will be out there in time for implementation," she said. The payment increases will "assure better payment for and expansion of participation of primary care providers," Mann said (Pittman, 9/14).