April 27, 2008
Low Medicaid reimbursement may lead to disparities
From Health Affairs:
PCPs in high-minority practices rely more heavily on lower-paying Medicaid reimbursements, devote more time to uncompensated charity care, and earn lower incomes. Magnifying these resource disparities, geographic areas with more high-minority practices tend to have lower Medicaid and private insurance reimbursements than those with fewer high-minority practices.
Our results indicate that the minority makeup of physicians' patient panels is associated with greater reports from physicians of difficulties providing high-quality care. At least some of this relationship appears to be explained by the lower resources flowing to high-minority practices. Two of the quality indicators most affected by Medicaid payment levels in our simulations, time spent per patient seen and difficulties getting timely reports from other providers, suggest the possibility that physicians may compensate for the lower revenue flows by increasing the volume of patients they see, reducing the time spent per patient seen, and perhaps devoting less time to coordinating and documenting care. This is despite the more complex psychosocial contexts and the language and cultural barriers that often complicate the treatment of lower-income and minority patients.
Posted by Staff at 08:00 AM
Category: Health Care; Health Disparities; Medicaid Reimbursement