Newspapers Report Medicaid Developments In Maryland, New York, Wisconsin

Main Category: Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP
Article Date: 04 Sep 2007 - 4:00 PDT

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Newspapers recently reported Medicaid developments in four states. Summaries of the coverage appear below.

• Maryland: The Maryland Dental Action Committee said the state must increase Medicaid reimbursements to dentists who treat children by $40 million over the next two years, the Baltimore Sun reports. According to the committee, increasing reimbursements would encourage more dentists to participate in the state's Medicaid program. The committee is expected to deliver recommendations to improve uninsured children's dental care access to state Health Secretary John Colmers on Sept. 11. The recommendations include allowing pediatricians and nurses to give children fluoride varnishes, which help protect against cavities, creating a dental health education campaign, incorporating dental screenings with vision and hearing screenings for school children, and establishing primary dental care providers for child Medicaid beneficiaries (Anderson, Baltimore Sun, 8/30).
  
  
• New York: New York state agencies paid nearly $10 million for Medicaid services that likely never were administered, according to a report issued Tuesday by the state comptroller, Long Island Newsday reports. The audits, which examined claims for services over a five-year period ending in 2006, found eight cases totaling $13,928 in which the state Department of Health's eMedNY claims processing system made payments for home care services after patients had died. The audit also found that the majority of overpayments for services occurred while beneficiaries were hospitalized, suggesting that facilities were billed for services that were not provided. The state health department said the audit most likely overstated some problems but noted that it would heed the audit's recommendations to fix the processing system to prevent future overpayments and recover inappropriate payments (Mallia, Long Island Newsday, 8/28).
  
  
• Wisconsin: State Department of Administration Secretary Michael Morgan on Wednesday told state health officials to develop a strategy to cut Medicaid spending by 20% until lawmakers end a budget stalemate, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. The cuts likely would result in lower reimbursement for providers. State Health and Family Services Secretary Kevin Hayden is responsible for determining the impact of a 20% cut in a report due Sept. 7. The cut would require CMS approval. The two-year budget was due July 1, and spending levels from the previous budget will continue until a new one is approved (Forster/Marley, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 8/29).

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