The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) recently released the latest update of its periodic report, Medicaid Graduate Medical Education Payments: A 50-State Survey. The Survey, which has been updated to reflect 2015 responses from state Medicaid programs, summarizes Medicaid GME payment rules in each state and examines payment policies and GME-related issues of particular interest to hospitals and policymakers.
According to the Survey, total Medicaid GME funding in 2015 grew to $4.26 billion, though GME payments in certain states decreased. As of this update, the number of states making Medicaid GME payments (42 states and DC) is unchanged since 2012. One trend appears to be an increase in the relative proportion of Medicaid GME payments under managed care, which, at 61 percent, significantly exceeded the proportion of Medicaid fee-for-service GME payments for the first time in 2015. Among other highlights, three states—Minnesota, Oklahoma, and Tennessee—pay Medicaid GME payments to medical schools, and two states—Florida and South Carolina—reported making GME payments directly to teaching physicians. Finally, 14 states subsidize graduate training of nurses and other health professions, in addition to physicians, through the Medicaid GME program.
The Survey is a valuable source of big-picture Medicaid GME information and trend-spotting.
