Colorado delays Medicaid payments
Temporarily short on money, Colorado has declared a fiscal emergency and delayed payments to doctors and clinics taking care of the state's neediest patients. Under state law, the Medicaid department can delay reimbursements to doctors, hospitals and clinics during a fiscal emergency. Physicians treating patients with the health-insurance plan for the poor will not receive normally scheduled payments on June 25 or July 2, a hardship for safety-net clinics in particular that rely on public funds. State officials said they would begin catching up on payments July 9 after a new fiscal year begins. Some clinics found out about the freeze only last week. Others had earlier warnings and were able to stash away a reserve to cover payroll, rent and utility bills — which helped a little, said Dr. Larry Wolk, executive director of Rocky Mountain Youth Clinics, where 75 percent of the 55,000 patients have Medicaid. "That's like saying, 'Prepare for me to punch you,' " Wolk said. "It still doesn't hurt any less." When a similar payment delay occurred several years ago, Rocky Mountain Youth Clinics had to withhold paychecks and borrow from a bank to pay staff who would have suffered without their salaries. This time, the clinics are relying on grants and donations as they go without about $150,000 in cash flow for the next few weeks. Read more: www.denverpost.com
