Rep. Spencer Hutchins implores House to pass long-overdue Medicaid reimbursement rate increase
Feb 26, 2024
During debate on the 2024 supplemental operating budget , Rep. Spencer Hutchins, R-Gig Harbor, called on House members to keep their promise to Medicaid patients and pass an amendment to raise Medicaid reimbursement rates to Medicare levels and fund that increase using cannabis revenue. Hutchins explained Medicaid rates had not been raised in decades and currently pay only about 57% of Medicare rates, effectively penalizing doctors financially for treating Medicaid patients. He said that has created a dangerous system where many doctors limit or refuse to take Medicaid patients. In turn, doctors who will see Medicaid patients are booked months out with some patients waiting 9 months to get an appointment.
thank you madam speaker I'm proud to
rise and supported this amendment I
thank my friend from the 25th uh um I
Echo the comments that have been made
about the importance of our Medicaid
system and the people that it serves
Madam
speaker on average in Washington we are
reimbursing Medicaid at
57% of the rate of Medicare I'll just
repeat that one more time on average
Washington state is reimbursing Medicaid
at 57% the rate of Medicare Washington
state is number 48 in the country for
low Medicaid reimbursement rates we are
only behind New Jersey and Rhode
Island healthc Care Professionals that
are serving patients in our neighboring
states by virtue of serving those states
are receiving higher reimbursements than
they reive in
Washington Madam speaker from 2012 to
2023 we saw an increase in our Medicaid
patients from 1.2 million to 2.1
million a 90%
increase in patients who rely on our our
Apple Health System our Medicaid system
here in Washington
state and that is why along with the
ranking member of the Appropriations
Committee and Healthcare committee I
introduced a bill this year to fund
Medicaid at the full Medicare
rate but the my friend from the 43rd who
referenced another policy on that line
unlike that policy proposal this policy
proposal funds
Medicaid using existing
revenues as we in the state of
Washington see billions of dollars in
Revenue Surplus it is possible Madam
speaker to prioritize what the
government is spending its money on and
to fund the programs that people rely
on it is becoming
impossible Madam
speaker for people of limited financial
means to achieve Equitable health care
that is accessible to so many others of
their
neighbors this is a crucial priority of
government and we're hearing from our
doctors and our healthcare providers
on this issue I was really interested in
an article that was put forward by the
Washington State Medical Association
just a few months ago permission to read
please proceed it begins by talking
about a Dr Kim who practices ear nose
and throat medicine in thirston county
and Dr Kim said it is a priority of
their practice to not pick and choose
but to serve all patients regardless of
their funding
source but as this article says now Dr
Kim finds himself in an ethical quandry
because of the low reimbursement rates
for Medicaid it's not economically
feasible to be so open to all patients
we lose money on our Medicaid patients
he says we just can't sustain it anymore
in 20123 the practice uh the practice
dropped accepting one Medicaid plan in
2024 the practice is taking even more
drastic steps we unfortunately are going
to limit the remaining Medicaid patients
over 18 to just one day Dr Kim says that
means the first appointments are 9
months out right
now we'll see the cancers and the urgent
things but everyone else will have to
wait or go to Seattle or Tacoma it puts
three highly productive surgeons out of
the pool and there aren't that many ear
nose and throat specialists in the state
to begin with the toll the decision is
taking on Dr Kim is noticeable I feel
terrible about this he says I'm losing
sleep
over it he's hardly alone in dealing
with the pressures from low Medicaid
reimbursement rates specialists in
Washington are reeling from a
reimbursement system that has remained
unchanged for decades even though the
number of Medicaid patients in the state
has nearly doubled the low rates
effectively penalize them financially
for treating Medicaid patients and this
Madam speaker the result is that access
to care for Medicaid patients is
increasingly hard to to come
by Madam speaker this amendment gets to
the heart of something very important
crucial very basic for the lives of
people in our state who have limited
means Equitable access to
doctors Equitable access to care
Equitable access to quality of care the
state of Washington holds itself out
under the Medicaid system and says we
will provide a health care plan for you
who may not be able to have a private
insurance
plan we hold this option
out and then the result is no
doctors no
appointments nine months waiting for
care let this be the moment Madam
speaker that the state of Washington
funds Medicaid equitably using existing
revenues on an ongoing basis let this be
the moment that the people of the state
of Washington who rely on these Social
Services can say with confidence we will
receive what we have been
promised please vote Yes