Squeezing physician reimbursements: A vicious cycle

Medicaid patients have a tough time finding a physician, due to ridiculously low reimbursements:

For example, Medicaid pays AppaRao Mukkamala, president of the Michigan State Medical Society and a radiologist in Flint, Mich., $20 for a chest X-ray while his costs are $29. “At this point, I have to pay money out of my own pocket to take care of that [Medicaid] patient, and it’s only going to get worse,” he says.

Patients without access delay care, go to the emergency room, and further drive up health care costs. The government then responds by reducing physician payments further.

Appropriate physician reimbursements would break this cycle.

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