Right to Know PA Medicaid Payment Rates

The MCOs negotiate payment arrangements with dental subcontractors, which in turn contract directly with dentists; the MCOs also negotiate some payment arrangements directly with dentists. The terms of those agreements are also unpublished. However, most low-income children get no dental care at all. The Pew Center on the States rated access to dental care in Pennsylvania an “F” in 2010 and a “D” in 2011, and the federal government has expressed concern about the low percentage of Medicaid children in Pennsylvania who see a dentist in the course of a year. Still, the state refuses to share vital information needed to assess the state’s Medicaid program with the public.

Beginning in 2011, the Law Center filed two requests under Pennsylvania’s new Right to Know Law for financial information about how much money the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare (DPW) pays for each child enrolled in Medicaid for dental services in the Philadelphia area — a number that has a direct effect on whether or not children have access to the care they need.

Case Progress

August 2016
DHS Finally Complies with Court Order, Law Center Obtains Records

June 2016
DHS Fails to Comply with PA Supreme Court Order in Right-to-Know Case

October 2015
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Rules Medicaid Payment Records Must Be Released to Public

May 2015
Law Center Urges PA Supreme Court to Uphold Government Transparency

February 2015
Law Center Replies to Appellees, Supreme Court Briefing Complete

December 2014
Litigation Gains Support from Academics, Media

October 2014
PA Supreme Court Agrees to Hear our Appeal in Medicaid Public Records Case

March 2014
Public Access to Information about Billions in State Health Care Expenses on the Line in Right-to-Know Cases

February 2014
Commonwealth Court Ruling

September 2013
Oral Arguments Presented Before En Banc Panel of Commonwealth Court Judges

May 2013
Office of Open Records Grants Law Center’s Second Appeal

December 2012
Second RTK Request denied; Law Center Appeals to OOR

October 2012
Law Center Files Second RTK Request

September 2012
Office of Open Records Grants Law Center’s First RTK Request

May 2012
Hearing Held on Office of Open Records Appeal

Staff on the Case
Ben Geffen
Benjamin Geffen