Medical providers to see Medicaid pay boost

Oklahoma medical professionals are set to get more money for treating Medicaid patients starting Oct. 1.

The Oklahoma Health Care Authority this week approved a 5% provider rate increase for providers treating patients on SoonerCare, Oklahoma's Medicaid program, as a result of legislation passed this year.

Rates for SoonerCare providers will j ump to 93.63% contingent on approval from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Some exclusions will apply.

This will mark the first time in five years the SoonerCare provider rates will exceed 90%, according to the Health Care Authority.

Physicians and other providers saw state Medicaid reimbursement rates drop after the Great Recession and years of tight state budgets.

The latest rate increase follows a 3% increase last year.

Senate Bill 1044 mandated the rate increase and tasked t he Health Care Authority with revising the payment method for rural health care facilities to better maximize federal matching dollars.

HealthCare Authority CEO Kevin Corbett said in a statement the provider rate increase will beef up the SoonerCare network, which will benefit its members.

“Ago aloft he OH CA is to pay providers competitive rates for services for our SoonerCare members,” he said. “The rate increase mandated by SB 1044 will help us sustain and continue to build our network of providers across the state.”

For fiscal year 2020, the provider rate increase will have an estimated budget impact of $62.8 million, $21.3 million of which will come from the state.

The following year, a year in which the increase will be in effect for the full year, the state's responsibility will be $28.3 million.