Louisiana officials tout higher Medicaid reimbursement rates | Local Politics

Doctors’ offices and hospitals will get paid more to treat patients on Medicaid, Louisiana Department of Health officials announced Tuesday.

Officials said higher reimbursement rates will attract more health care providers to serve Medicaid patients and increase patient access to health care.

“Today’s move really creates a space that allows physicians all over the state to be able to take more Medicaid patients in their panel, opening up access for patients,” said Louisiana Department of Health Secretary Bruce Greenstein.

“Better reimbursement rates empower doctors to see more patients and potentially open up more clinics,” he said.

And, improved patient access should lead to more preventative care and better treatment of chronic conditions, Greenstein said.

With the change, Medicaid providers are now getting reimbursed at 85% of the Medicare reimbursement rate.

Previously, the rate for professional health care services was, in aggregate, 73% of the Medicare reimbursement rate, Greenstein said. That’s because different types of providers such as primary care doctors, pediatricians, surgeons and psychologists, for example, had different rates.

Medicaid is a health insurance program for low-income people run by the state. It’s funded by both state and federal government, with the latter picking up most of the cost.

Medicare, the health insurance program for seniors, is run and paid for by the federal government.

The increased Medicaid reimbursement rate applies to physicians, nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, certified nurse midwives, and physician assistants, Greenstein said.

Health department spokesperson Emma Herrock said that while some rates had been bumped up in the past, “this is probably one of the most comprehensive increases to the rates in a decade.”

Dr. Wyche Coleman, a primary care doctor who has been practicing in rural northwest Louisiana for over four decades, said 50% of his practice is Medicaid patients.

“Firsthand I’ve seen the challenge with low reimbursement,” said Coleman.

He said the “biggest challenge” is getting specialty doctors to see Medicaid patients.

Coleman, whose son is ophthalmologist and LDH Deputy Surgeon General Wyche Coleman III, called the 85% reimbursement rate a “game-changer” that could incentivize young healthcare providers from Louisiana to return to rural hometowns and launch solo practices.

The increase in provider payments comes after state Sen. Gerald Boudreaux, D-Lafayette, sponsored a bill in 2024 that directed the health department to put together a plan to increase rates.

This spring, the Louisiana Legislature appropriated $258 million for the current fiscal year to cover the cost of the rate increase, including $200 million of federal funding, $22.5 million of state general fund dollars, and $26 million from savings generated by Gov. Jeff Landry’s Louisiana DOGE program, said LDH Undersecretary Drew Maranto.

Some of the DOGE-related savings came from eligibility checks and removing people from the rolls who moved to another state or died, Greenstein said.

Maranto said there are currently just under 1.6 million people on Medicaid in Louisiana.

He also noted that the rates for behavioral health professionals are going up by more than 30 percent. “We know that folks need treatment, and they need to get it at the right place,” Maranto said.