Medicaid among top state health issues

Increases in medical liability insurance costs, public health preparedness and patients' access to care also are attracting state lawmakers' interest.

By Tanya Albert, AMNews staff. March 4, 2002.

Legislatures in 44 states are gathering in their capitals this year, with the majority of them set to look at the way they handle Medicaid reimbursement rates and public health.

The six state legislatures that don't meet this year -- Arkansas, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon and Texas -- are preparing to go forward with similar issues when they convene in 2003.

"Health care is going to be the top issue because it involves a large amount of dollars in the budget," said Lee Dixon, director of health policy tracking services for the National Conference of State Legislatures. "Medicaid is one of the largest items in the budgets."

In addition to budget concerns, mandated insurance benefits and access to health care also are hot topics this year, according to the NCSL's 2002 State Health Priorities Survey.

Many states plan to address issues that directly impact physicians' bottom lines, according to the survey. Five states plan to discuss collective bargaining for physicians, 16 plan to talk about prompt-payment revisions and several states are debating measures to address rising medical liability insurance rates.

With state budgets shrinking because of the economic downturn, 42 states say they will be forced to address a Medicaid budget shortfall this year. Twenty-eight of those states expect to consider cuts in the Medicaid benefit package.

"That's the No. 1 issue out there," Dixon said. Medicaid programs account for about 20% of state budgets, with only elementary and secondary education requiring a bigger chunk of money, according to the NCSL. [...]