New Jersey Medical Community Leader Calls for Higher Medicaid Reimbursement Rates for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Providers

In a recent opinion piece published by the Times of Trenton online at NJ.com, Dr. Debra Wentz issued a call for an increase in Medicaid reimbursement rates, which to put it mildly, fall “far short” of the actual costs of providing services. As Dr. Wentz noted in her piece, the current rate of reimbursement for a medication monitoring visit with a psychiatrist is only nine dollars, and the rate for long-term residential substance use treatment is $68 per day, an amount which ostensibly should cover meals, housing, clinical services, basic medical services and more.

A particularly disturbing effect of this gross underpayment, according to Dr. Wentz, is that providers cannot afford to pay their employees and find it impossible to attract and retain qualified staff.

Debra L. Wentz, Ph.D., is CEO of the New Jersey Association of Mental Health and Addiction Agencies, a trade association of 180 nonprofit hospital-based and freestanding behavioral healthcare provider organizations treating more than half a million children and adults annually. Dr. Wentz is a member of the New Jersey Governor’s Council on Mental Health Stigma and many other organizations at the state and national levels.

Union Attorneys Provide Legal Help to New Jersey Medical Providers

Massood Law Group regularly represents doctors, physician groups and other medical providers involved in a dispute with the insurance company over Personal Injury Protection (PIP) arbitrations, workers’ compensation payments, and other matters. We understand the enormous importance of medical providers who accept Medicaid patients, and we know the frustration they go through in the reimbursement process. If you are a medical provider in New Jersey experiencing difficulty in obtaining payment for services provided, contact our office to speak with one of our experienced medical provider attorneys.