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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Jennings

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/24/07

HB

SHORT TITLE

Increase Certain Medicaid Payments

SB 119

ANALYST Weber

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

$100.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Relates to Appropriation in the General Appropriation Act

REVENUE (dollars in thousands)

Estimated Revenue

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

FY09

$247.9

$230.0 Recurring Federal Funds

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Human Services Department (HSD)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 119 appropriates $100.0 from the general fund to the Human Services Depart-

ment to increase reimbursement to physicians for anesthesia services to ensure access to

these essential services.

Senate Bill 119 – Page

2

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $100.0 thousand contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general

fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of Fiscal Year 2008 shall

revert to the general fund.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

The Human Services Department contributes the following.

In order to maintain the increased level of payment for future years, the increase would need to

be included in the Medicaid base budget request in future years.

The appropriation is limited to “payments to physicians" and does not address the anesthesia ser-

vices rendered by Certified Nurse Anesthetists, or Anesthesia Assistants, both of whom partici-

pate in the Medicaid Program also, often working under the direction of a physician.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

The LFC recommendation includes $13 million in physician related reimbursement increases.

MW/nt