Bentley Announces Reinstatement of $15M Medicaid Bump to Primary Care Physicians

MONTGOMERY—Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley today announced plans to end two months of budget cuts and reinstate a major $15 million segment of funding to primary care physicians by Oct. 1.

Bentley, along with Medicaid Commissioner Stephanie Azar, today announced the State would restore payments to primary care physicians through the Alabama Medicaid Agency to levels they were before the Agency cut them on Aug. 1.

“We are going to restore Oct. 1 $15 million to our primary care physicians in this state,” Bentley said today. “Our primary care physicians are the ones that are affected the most with Medicaid, because almost all of our primary care doctors take Medicaid. Some of them take it in large percentages.”

Earlier this month, the Legislature allocated millions of dollars from a settlement with oil giant BP in a Special Session to make up for an $85 million shortfall. With the new money, Azar said the state can afford to restore $15 million in funding for the bump.

Read more: http://www.alreporter.com/bentley-azar-announce-reinstatement-of-15-million-bump-to-primary-care-physicians/