Fairfield Daily Republic Talks Medi-Cal - 8/3/07

This article in the Fairfield Daily Republic, featuring PPSD's Regional Director for Fairfield and Vacaville, highlights the importance of increasing the Medi-Cal provider reimbursement rate and how not doing so will adversely affect Planned Parenthood clients.

Fairfield Daily Republic - August 3, 2007

Budget impasse imperils Planned Parenthood
By Andrea E. Garcia

FAIRFIELD - While the state Legislature continues the stalemate over this year's budget, some health care centers are feeling a greater crunch than others as provider reimbursement rates fail to increase again.

In the past 20 years, there has only been one rate increase for the Medi-Cal Fee-for-Service program, a health plan that bills Medical Assistance for care or services.

But health care costs have increased more than 300 percent during that time, said Donna McNichol, regional director for Planned Parenthood. That means the facility is working with 1987 dollars for 2007 costs.

"Because of the rate increase, we are having difficulties getting providers and keeping them. It's difficult to be competitive in the market when your rates have not increased," she said. "We have competition in other venues and these providers have gone elsewhere to make more money."

As a result, programs and services at Planned Parenthood are getting curtailed, such as prenatal service.

In 2005, a lack of a rate increase forced the Vallejo prenatal office to complete stop its services and the Fairfield site to reduce its prenatal services considerably.

McNichol works at both locations has seen the effects firsthand.

At one time, she said, the Fairfield location would see between 30 and 40 prenatal patients per month. Now the facility can only provide care for 10 women under the Comprehensive Perinatal Service Providers program.

"It's very frustrating for me," McNichol said. "We're talking about getting preventive services to people and how much it saves us in the long run. But then no one does anything about it. We're not doing what we have to make it happen."

Prenatal service is not the only program likely to be cut.

Christopher Lee, vice president for public policy and advocacy for Planned Parenthood Shasta-Diablo, said a number of potential life-saving services will be affected, including cancer screening and HIV testing.

"It's a tough thing to be in the position of the folks we service," he said. "They rely on our services, including testing and treatment. These are preventative care services that are in jeopardy."

As of Thursday, there were an estimated $227 million in payments withheld by the state for Medi-Cal Fee-for-Service providers.

Pending passage of the state budget, an estimated 11,000 providers will not receive payment and will be impacted, according to the Department of Health Services.

On Wednesday, the budget bill failed in the state Senate by a vote of 26-14, one aye vote shy of the two-thirds majority needed for approval. The Legislature did not pick a date to reconvene as of Thursday.

Reach Andrea E. Garcia at 427-6953 or agarcia@dailyrepublic.net.