Source: Urban Institute
Latest Data: 2016
Release Timing: March 2017
Frequency: Annual
Contact: Stephen Zuckerman, 202-261-5709, publicaffairs@urban.org

The ratio of fees paid to doctors for Medicaid services vs. Medicare services varies significantly across the 50 states.  States where the ratio is higher are where doctors earn higher Medicaid fees relative to fees for Medicare services. Those states tend to be in better financial shape, and have more doctors that are accepting new Medicaid patients. 

This data comes from a study by the Urban Institute.  The index is obtained by computing the ratio of the Medicaid fee for primary services in each state to the Medicare fees paid for the same services.  (Note: Tennessee is estimated based on 2014 data.)   If a state has an index number of 1.25 it means that state pays 1.25 times as much for Medicaid services and it does for Medicare services.  If a state has an index number of .85, that state pays Medicaid fees that are only 85 percent of the Medicare amount for the same service.