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CDC: NJ Medicaid Reimbursement Rates Leaving New Patients Out In The Cold

By David Madden

TRENTON, N.J. (CBS) -- Newly released data from the federal government suggest that New Jersey doctors are, for the most part, declining to take on new Medicaid patients, even with Obamacare taken into account.

The report, from The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, found that New Jersey was the only state in the country that, in 2013, saw a majority of physicians opting not to accept new Medicaid clients.

Part of the problem, according to Claudine Leone, with the New Jersey Academy of Family Physicians, is that New Jersey is simply not putting enough Medicaid money into primary care.

"We have encouraged the state's Medicaid program and the managed care program to invest more in primary care dollars," she notes.

To provide some perspective, New Jersey's reimbursement for a primary preventive care Medicare patient visit is $23.50, compared to $54 in Pennsylvania and $95 in Wyoming.

 

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