News Sentinel | 01/28/2005 | More doctors opt out of Medicaid
News Sentinel | 01/28/2005 | More doctors opt out of Medicaid:
A piece here on doctors finding that continuing on in the Medicaid program is no longer financially rewarding in Indiana, especially in light of this:
In efforts to reduce the projected $121 million Medicaid deficit spending for the current fiscal year, the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, which oversees Medicaid, has said medical providers should prepare for a 2 percent withholding of their Medicaid earnings starting Feb. 15.
Ray Kusisto, CEO of Orthopaedics Northeast, said the 27-physician speciality practice does take non-HMO Medicaid patients. “ONE’s reimbursement rate is less than 20 percent of billed cost,” he said, but admits the practice is big enough to spread the burden of Medicaid loss because of revenue from private insurance and reimbursement for higher-cost surgical procedures.
“Medicaid pays so little now, we basically see the Medicaid patients as our appropriate good-deed in society,” Kusisto said. “It can be a challenge if you don’t have a strong commitment to serve that population. There’s certainly no business sense in doing it.”
