|
State Medicaid officials say a new loan repayment program will help Texas increase the number of physicians, dentists, and specialists who provide care for children with Medicaid coverage. TMA, along with the Texas Pediatric Society and the Texas Academy of Family Physicians, helped design the program.
The new program is among the initiatives funded from $150 million the 2007 Texas Legislature set aside to make it easier for children with Medicaid coverage to get medical and dental services. The funding for the program is part of the legislature's $1.8 billion plan to increase Medicaid rates and the availability of services in response to the Frew v. Hawkins lawsuit over utilization of preventive services in children's Medicaid.
Once the program is implemented, it will provide loan repayments for up to 1,200 physicians and dentists a year. Each doctor will be eligible for up to $140,000 in loan repayments over four years if he or she meets targets for services provided to children on Medicaid.
Physicians will be able to apply for the loan repayment program starting in March. Applications will be accepted year round with new participants selected each June. The loan repayments will be made through the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
Action, Jan. 16, 2009
Last Published: 1/16/2009 Print this page
|