Alabama's $68M in Medicaid Cuts Go Into Effect

An Alabama decision to cut $68 million in Medicaid funding will impact not only the nearly one million beneficiaries who rely on state-funded healthcare, but also physicians and emergency rooms caring for those patients, according to a Times Daily report.

The cuts are part of a proration on Alabama's budget and include:

• A 10 percent reduction of payment to some healthcare providers (including physicians dentists and lab and X-ray providers)
• A limit of one brand-name drug per month for each Medicaid beneficiary (generics will still be unlimited)
• Reductions in optional services for adults, including eye exams (eyeglasses will no longer be funded)
• Reductions in optional coverage for cough and cold medications.

According to the report, there is a concern among some in the Alabama medical community that a number of physicians will no longer be able to afford to see Medicaid patients, and people in need of primary care will overcrowd Alabama emergency rooms.

"(Having) more people in the emergency department will slow things down," CEO of Huntsville (Ala.) Hospital David Spillers said in the report. "But it is the safety net for most communities when people can't get care outside hospitals."

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