National primary care physician organizations, including the American College of Physicians, American Academy of Family Physicians, and American Academy of Pediatrics, have taken policy positions supporting making permanent the increased Medicaid primary care payments for calendar years 2013 and 2014 under section 1202 of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act.
The American College of Physicians published a detailed policy analysis of the Medicaid program in the context of the implementation of the Affordable Care Act that includes its position supporting the permanent Medicaid primary care payment increase:
In June 2014, these three national primary care organizations urged Congress to enact at least a two-year extension of the increased payments.
In July 2014, Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Mary Landrieu (D-LA) introduced S.2694, to extend the increased Medicaid primary care rates for an additional two calendar years, and to add obstetricians and gynecologists, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and certified nurse midwives as eligible for the comparable Medicare primary care rates.
Given the newly-elected Republican majorities in both the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives that have prioritized the repeal of the ACA as one their legislative priorities, these advocacy efforts have steep political opposition to overcome.
Meanwhile, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, at least 15 states have decided to continue these increased Medicaid payments to primary care providers at least through 2015, with another 12 states still deciding.
Ignatius Bau 