(The Center Square) – Medicaid can be fully funded in North Carolina until April based on legislation passed by the House of Representatives, its speaker said Wednesday.
Two proposals are now in the hands of the Senate and eventually could come before first-term Democratic Gov. Josh Stein. House lawmakers gave a nod to appropriating $190 million in nonrecurring funds for the Medicaid rebase and added $190 million for the rebase for a total recurring appropriation of $690 million.
The former’s vehicle is Medicaid Rebase Funding, known also as House Bill 491 with companion Senate Bill 403. Passage was 111-0. The latter went through in the Healthcare Investment Act, known also as Senate Bill 405. Passage was 110-0.
“Governor Stein has the money to keep Medicaid fully funded until April, yet he’s chosen to play politics with people’s health care by unnecessarily cutting rates,” Speaker Destin Hall, R-Caldwell, said in a release. “We’re ready to work with the Senate – and anyone serious about solutions – to end Stein’s manufactured Medicaid crisis.”
Medicaid rebase means an adjustment to fiscal support because of costs and or volume of people enrolled.
In the Healthcare Investment Act, there is $49.2 million recurring and $34.4 million nonrecurring funding to support Medicaid managed care. Another $1 million goes to the state auditor’s office for “comprehensive review of county-level Medicaid eligibility redeterminations” and Department of Social Services performance.
