Bill's sponsor wants reimbursement for treating low-income patients to include doctors as well as dentists

A bill that would increase reimbursement rates for Utah dentists who treat poor children has been expanded to include doctors as well.

Utah ranks near the bottom in the nation in how much it reimburses medical providers who treat Medicaid patients, paying dentists 30 percent of their normal rates and physicians close to 60 percent.

HB24, sponsored by Rep. Steve Mascaro, R-West Jordan, originally sought to raise rates for dentists by requiring the state to reimburse dentists at 75 percent of the regional fee schedule for services provided to children.

On Thursday, Rep. Stephen Clark, R-Provo, proposed an amendment to also apply the 75 percent reimbursement to doctors treating low-income patients of all ages.

"This is just one small segment of a huge problem we've got in this state with reimbursement of medical costs," Clark said.

Mascaro supports the amendment, saying he has wanted to address physician reimbursement rates for the past two years.

"It will open the door to thousands of children and also, in this case, adults in receiving absolutely necessary Medicaid services," he said.

Mascaro feared including physicians in his original HB24 because it is expected to at least triple the $2.7 million fiscal note. It is estimated to cost between $10 million and $15 million to raise doctors' reimbursement rates to the 75 percent requirement.

But Mascaro said Thursday that Clark has assured him the amendment will garner additional favorable votes for the legislation, which has received the endorsement of the Health and Human Services Interim Committee.

Dr. Catherine Wheeler, president of the Utah Medical Association, supports the idea behind Clark's amendment.

"I would agree with anything that would help us be able to take care of Medicaid patients," she said.

Last fall, Wheeler, an obstetrician/gynecologist, and other medical professionals testified before a legislative committee that low reimbursement rates forced them to stop seeing Medicaid patients altogether because each time they did so they lost money.

HB24 was originally assigned to the House Business and Labor Committee n an attempt, some believed, to kill the measure before it made it to the House floor. Mascaro was able to get support from the majority of the 75-member House to have it reassigned to the Health and Human Services Committee, which will vote on the legislation after it receives an updated fiscal note.

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