New York Medicaid Program is Among Country's Best

New York state's Medicaid program is among the best in the country for quality, scope of service and eligibility measures, despite the fact that state Medicaid providers receive the second lowest reimbursement in the nation, according to a report released Tuesday by the non-profit public interest group Public Citizen.

Overall, New York's Medicaid program is eighth best nationwide, ranked according to its scores in four categories: quality, scope of services, eligibility and provider reimbursement.

"While there is clearly a need to improve our Medicaid system, this report supports our contention that despite perennial budget cuts and artificially low provider reimbursement rates, our hospitals, doctors, nurses and staff provide quality care to New York's nearly 3 million Medicaid enrollees," said Healthcare Association of New York State (HANYS) president Daniel Sisto.

The report also found that Medicaid costs were rising across the state due primarily to growing enrollment, not increases in cost of service or provider reimbursement.