title: Is a Physician "Provider Tax" the Solution to Michigan's Medicaid Woes?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Michigan is facing a Medicaid budget shortfall. Evidence suggests that the underlying factors causing reliance on Medicaid and cost of treatment to increase are getting worse. A tax on Michigan physicians has been proposed by legislators to meet the budget demands of Michigan's Medicaid program.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This paper looks at the legal basis of such a tax, studies the successes and failures of other states that have implemented similar taxes, and attempts to assess the effect this tax would have on Michigan doctors and patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  With current Medicaid rules, such a tax would increase federal matching funds and potentially reimbursement rates. However, the cost of a tax on physicians would not be born equally, and there are no guarantees that the revenue would provide a funding solution.
authors.affiliation: The CORE Institute, Detroit Medical Center/Providence Hospital Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Program, Providence Hospital and Medical Centers, 22250 Providence Drive, Suite #401, Southfield, MI 48075 USA.
authors.forename: David C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Markel
authors.affiliation: Cooley LLP, Palo Alto, CA 94304 USA.
authors.forename: Peter J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Sauer
authors.affiliation: Orthopaedic Surgery, OSF St Francis Hospital and Medical Group, Escanaba, MI 49829 USA.
authors.forename: Ralph B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Blasier
keywords: Affordable Care Act; Medicaid; Michigan; physician tax