Washington moves toward a new Medicaid money shuffle

Plus more tax shade from Ferguson, the Airbnb tax dies, and more

Editor’s Note: Paul first wrote about weird Medicaid money shuffles when he was covering the Alaska Legislature in the early 2000s. Today, Sara picks up the torch.

Specialty physician groups could start serving more Medicaid patients after the Senate passed House Bill 1392 from Rep. Nicole Macri, D-Seattle, off the floor 31-18. Sen. Paul Harris, R-Vancouver, joined Senate Democrats in voting to establish the Medicaid access program. But Congressional Republicans’ stated desire to gut Medicaid spending at the federal level could throw a major wrench in these plans. 

The bill is a wonky health care policy with big implications for specialty physician groups that wish to serve Medicaid patients but can’t afford to, and the patients who then face hurdles to accessing specialized medical care. We explored how Washington’s pitifully low Medicaid reimbursement rate impacts health care access in depth last year, and the policy the Senate just passed is a continuation of the Washington State Medical Association and other physician advocates’ work to secure better rates for professional specialty services. Here’s how it all works: 

Photo by JAFAR AHMED on Unsplash