[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 149 (Tuesday, December 9, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1755-E1756]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      MEDICAID AND WOMEN'S HEALTH

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DAVID LOEBSACK

                                of iowa

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 9, 2014

  Mr. LOEBSACK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to act 
before the end of this year to improve access to care for low-income 
women in America. The Medicaid primary care bump, which expires on 
December 31st, should be extended and must be expanded to include 
women's health.
   The current program has improved access to care for low-income 
Americans by increasing reimbursement for primary care and vaccine 
administration codes in Medicaid to Medicare levels. However, women's 
health was left out of the original provision. I think it is critical 
that we correct this oversight.
   Ob-gyns deliver primary and preventative care to women, and an ob-
gyn is often the only doctor a woman sees on a regular basis. In Iowa, 
Ob-gyns are considered primary care under our state Medicaid program. 
However, the federal law as written says they are not, making it harder 
for low-income women to get needed care. Extending and expanding the 
Medicaid primary care access bump would make care available to women in 
need.
   In Iowa, providers receive only 77% in Medicaid reimbursement 
compared to Medicare for primary services. This affects a physician's 
willingness to accept new Medicaid patients, and 23% of women Medicaid 
beneficiaries report problems with finding a new doctor who will accept 
their insurance due to low Medicaid payment rates, compared to 7% of 
Medicare beneficiaries and 13% of women with private insurance.
   I support extending the Medicaid primary care access bump and 
expanding it to include women's health so that all Iowa women can 
access the critical primary and preventative care services they need. I 
would like to thank colleagues of both parties for introducing 
legislation to do just this.

[[Page E1756]]



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