Medicaid Cuts Sending Shock Waves Through Alabama Medical Community

 ========= Old Image Removed =========Array
(
    [_wp_attached_file] => Array
        (
            [0] => 2016/04/medicaid-logo.jpg
        )

    [_wp_attachment_metadata] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:5:{s:5:"width";i:595;s:6:"height";i:335;s:4:"file";s:25:"2016/04/medicaid-logo.jpg";s:5:"sizes";a:6:{s:6:"medium";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:25:"medicaid-logo-336x189.jpg";s:5:"width";i:336;s:6:"height";i:189;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:25:"medicaid-logo-140x140.jpg";s:5:"width";i:140;s:6:"height";i:140;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"wbhm-icon";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:23:"medicaid-logo-80x80.jpg";s:5:"width";i:80;s:6:"height";i:80;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:18:"wbhm-featured-home";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:25:"medicaid-logo-552x311.jpg";s:5:"width";i:552;s:6:"height";i:311;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:25:"medicaid-logo-470x265.jpg";s:5:"width";i:470;s:6:"height";i:265;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:25:"medicaid-logo-125x125.jpg";s:5:"width";i:125;s:6:"height";i:125;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}}s:10:"image_meta";a:12:{s:8:"aperture";s:1:"0";s:6:"credit";s:0:"";s:6:"camera";s:0:"";s:7:"caption";s:0:"";s:17:"created_timestamp";s:1:"0";s:9:"copyright";s:0:"";s:12:"focal_length";s:1:"0";s:3:"iso";s:1:"0";s:13:"shutter_speed";s:1:"0";s:5:"title";s:0:"";s:11:"orientation";s:1:"0";s:8:"keywords";a:0:{}}}
        )

    [_imagify_optimization_level] => Array
        (
            [0] => 1
        )

    [_imagify_data] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:2:{s:5:"stats";a:3:{s:13:"original_size";i:0;s:14:"optimized_size";i:0;s:7:"percent";i:0;}s:5:"sizes";a:1:{s:4:"full";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}}}
        )

    [_imagify_status] => Array
        (
            [0] => already_optimized
        )

)
1665093623 
1470816907

The first round of cuts to the state’s Medicaid program went into effect on August 1. Officials did away with the “primary care bump,” a payment incentive given to primary care providers in an effort to encourage them to accept Medicaid patients. The cuts are already sending shock waves through Alabama’s medical community, especially in rural areas. Dr. Jarod Speer is a family physician in Childersburg and president of the Alabama Academy of Family Physicians. He says he serves roughly 1000 Medicaid patients, but the cuts will impact the entire state.

 

What people don’t understand about the Medicaid cuts?

“I don’t think they understand how extensive Medicaid is and how many people are impacted by it. More than a million Alabamians are on Medicaid. More than half the births here in Alabama are paid for by Medicaid. Sixty percent of residents in nursing homes are Medicaid patients. So it’s not just those who are disabled and those who are poor. This is going to impact everybody; If Medicaid crumbles or doesn’t receive adequate funding, then everyone is going to feel this impact in one way or another.”

 

How are rural practices affected differently by the Medicaid cuts?

“I don’t know if it’s much different. I think all the physicians that accept Medicaid are feeling these cuts. One thing’s that is different is that in a rural area there’s already a shortage [of Medicaid providers]. There’s not a lot of choices for the Medicaid patients. In the Birmingham area, if physician decides to stop accepting Medicaid patients, there are other options for his patients to turn to and find care somewhere else. Out here in Childersburg and Talladega County, there aren’t a lot of options.”

 

Would you support a lottery?

“If it was fully funding Medicaid and it was a long-term fix. I would have to see the details of how it’s laid out, but that is absolutely something I could get behind.”

 

Alabama governor vows action after Montgomery shooting leaves 2 dead, 12 injured

The deadly shooting unfolded Saturday night in a crowded section of the city's downtown filled with bars, hotels and restaurants. The location is less than a mile from the Alabama Capitol and near sites that pay tribute to Rosa Parks and other key figures in the city’s history.

Psychiatrists call for RFK Jr. to be replaced as health secretary

Two groups are calling for new leadership at HHS after Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s actions on substance abuse treatment and mental health medications, among other issues.

Who is Bari Weiss? CBS News’ new editor-in-chief is a vocal critic of legacy media

Provocative columnist Bari Weiss publicly quit the New York Times in 2020, then cofounded The Free Press as an alternative to legacy media. Here's what to know as she takes the helm of CBS News.

ICC finds former Sudan militia leader guilty of war crimes in Darfur

The International Criminal Court in The Hague handed down its first-ever Darfur war crimes conviction, finding Janjaweed leader Ali Kushayb, guilty of atrocities committed more than two decades ago.

Bread and Puppet Theater is still working to ‘make the revolution irresistible’

The decades-old radical troupe Bread and Puppet, famed for its protest art including giant puppets, is touring again — mixing circus, politics and bread in a sharply polarized moment.

The federal government is shut down. Here’s what that means across the country

The federal government is currently shut down. NPR's network is following the ways the government shutdown is affecting services across the country.

More Front Page Coverage