File #: Res 1368-2012    Version: * Name: Ease the burden on women’s health care providers by increasing Medicaid reimbursement rates.
Type: Resolution Status: Filed
Committee: Committee on Health
On agenda: 6/13/2012
Enactment date: Law number:
Title: Resolution calling upon the New York State Legislature to pass and the Governor to sign legislation that would ease the burden on women’s health care providers by increasing Medicaid reimbursement rates.
Sponsors: Elizabeth S. Crowley, Margaret S. Chin, Vincent J. Gentile, Letitia James, Peter A. Koo, G. Oliver Koppell, Karen Koslowitz, Annabel Palma, Deborah L. Rose, Albert Vann, Jumaane D. Williams, Ruben Wills, Mathieu Eugene
Council Member Sponsors: 13
Date Ver.Prime SponsorAction ByActionResultAction DetailsMeeting DetailsMultimedia
12/31/2013*Elizabeth S. Crowley City Council Filed (End of Session)  Action details Meeting details Not available
6/13/2012*Elizabeth S. Crowley City Council Introduced by Council  Action details Meeting details Not available
6/13/2012*Elizabeth S. Crowley City Council Referred to Comm by Council  Action details Meeting details Not available
Res. No. 1368
 
 
Resolution calling upon the New York State Legislature to pass and the Governor to sign legislation that would ease the burden on women's health care providers by increasing Medicaid reimbursement rates.
 
 
By Council Members Crowley, Chin, Gentile, James, Koo, Koppell, Koslowitz, Palma, Rose, Vann, Williams, Wills and Eugene  
 
Whereas, According to the Kaiser Foundation, in 2008, New York had the 47th lowest Medicaid obstetrical care fees relative to the national average; and
      Whereas, While there have been some modest increases in Medicaid obstetrical fees over the last few years, they are significantly below the real costs of providing obstetrical services; and
      Whereas, The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) indicated that both public and private insurance reimbursement rates for delivering a child are less than the price of office equipment; and
      Whereas, In a survey of its members, ACOG reported that 41 percent of those surveyed received between $1,500 and $2,500 for a delivery, and 11 percent reported receiving less than $1,500 per delivery, significantly less than the actual cost of a delivery; and
      Whereas, In New York State, fifty-one percent of all deliveries are covered by Medicaid and the reimbursement rate for a Medicaid delivery is a mere $1,440; and
      Whereas, At the current reimbursement rates, a practitioner would need to perform 123 deliveries annually, one every three days, just to cover medical malpractice insurance costs which can be as high as $177,000 in New York City; and
      Whereas, This does not factor in any other costs that practitioners endure such as administrative and overhead costs; and
Whereas, As a result of these figures, ACOG has referred to obstetrical care as a "dangerously undervalued service and unsustainable profession in New York State"; and  
Whereas, Low reimbursement rates put health care practitioners in a dilemma, namely, whether to have an abundance of patients and perform a significant number of deliveries to cover costs, or to limit the scope of their practice; and
Whereas, However, when practitioners limit the scope of their practice, women have less access to health care services; and
Whereas, Reimbursement rates must be increased to more realistically represent the cost of providing obstetrical services; and
Whereas, Without such action, countless women may be negatively affected; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the New York State Legislature to pass and the Governor to sign legislation that would ease the burden on women's health care providers by increasing Medicaid reimbursement rates.
 
LS# 3335
JM
3/28/12