In this presentation, MACPAC described Medicaid policy levers to address primary and specialty care workforce concerns. While workforce concerns are not unique to Medicaid, they can affect access to timely and culturally competent care for beneficiaries.
Key factors affecting the adequacy of the workforce include the supply, distribution, and diversity of providers. State and federal government play important but different roles with respect to the provider workforce, and the decision to use available Medicaid policy levers rests with states. However, policy levers to address Medicaid workforce concerns are relatively modest compared to opportunities available through other federal workforce programs.
The presentation described how some state Medicaid programs have used opportunities within a Health Resources and Services Administration program for oral health providers to target the Medicaid workforce, state approaches using the Medicaid Delivery System Reform Initiative Payment waivers, and Medicaid graduate medical education to address workforce concerns.