Please see the attached document from the Health Care Authority which documents the Medicaid rate increase for pediatric primary care E&M and vaccine administration codes for July 1, 2019 – June 30, 2020.
When the legislature funded the pediatric rate increase in the 2018 operating budget they provided a fixed amount of money for each year rather than a specific rate increase (dollar or percent). The FY2018-2019 amount was divided over a 9-month period because it did not take effect until October 2018. The FY2019-2020 amount will cover 12 months, ensuring funding through June 30, 2020.
WCAAP will continue to work with legislators and the Health Care Authority to increase pediatric Medicaid rates to parity with Medicare. Please let us know how the Medicaid rate impacts your practice. Has the recent increase helped you hire additional staff? Do the still-low rates force you to limit the number of patients you see who are covered by Apple Health for Kids? Are families traveling to your clinic because they can’t access care in their own community? Contact Jennifer Donahue to share your stories! These real-world stories help us illustrate the issue for legislators, and are crucial to our future success in achieving parity with Medicare.