CSSA Pushes for Medicaid Payment Increase

In recent testimony before the Connecticut Human Services Committee, Dr. John Satterfield, speaking for the Connecticut State Society of Anesthesiologists (CSSA), warned lawmakers that Connecticut’s Medicaid program gravely undervalues anesthesia services—placing patient access and physician retention at risk. He emphasized that Connecticut anesthesiologists have not received a Medicaid rate increase since 2006, despite rising costs and increasing patient complexity.

Dr. Satterfield explained that Medicaid’s linkage to Medicare rates is fundamentally flawed because a decades old federal calculation error left anesthesia services massively underpaid, with Medicare reimbursing anesthesiologists at only 27% of commercial rates, compared to 80% for most other specialties. This chronic underpayment is reflected in Connecticut’s own data: over the past 20 years, the CPI rose 50%, while Connecticut anesthesiologists saw just a 5% Medicare increase and no Medicaid increase, resulting in a real payment decline. CSSA also corrected the state’s 2024 rate analysis, which claimed Connecticut Medicaid anesthesia rates are 86% of the national average; in reality, they are closer to 70%. Dr. Satterfield cautioned that such undervaluation threatens Connecticut’s ability to recruit and retain anesthesiologists—already ranking 47th nationally in retention.

CSSA urged lawmakers to adopt a multi year correction: a 20% increase in 2026, 15% in 2027, and 10% in 2028—necessary steps just to bring Medicaid payments to current Medicare levels, which themselves remain far below the cost of providing anesthesia care.

Watch CSSA’s testimony (10:54:15)

See CSSA’s written testimony