(The Center Square) – Funding $319 million into Medicaid to cover the remainder of the fiscal year ending June 30 was completed Thursday with a signature from first-term Democratic Gov. Josh Stein on a bill negotiated by Republican majorities in the General Assembly.
Health Care Practitioner Transparency Act, as House Bill 696 is known, has more frequent eligibility reviews; stronger documentation requirements; and citizenship and immigration verification.
The Medicaid rebase will include increased oversight by office of first-term Republican state Auditor Dave Boliek; annual transparency reporting; a focus on funds tied to autism therapy; and a directive for the Department of Health and Human Services to create an integrity and efficiency plan for Medicaid.
Medicaid rebase means an adjustment to fiscal support because of costs and or volume of people enrolled.
“Moving forward, the General Assembly should use recurring, not one-time, funding for Medicaid to avoid this painful process each year, protect the program for those who rely on it, and keep our entire health care system strong,” Stein said. “We are committed to continually improving Medicaid to contain costs and to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse at every turn.”
He also challenged the lawmakers advancing the legislation 112-3 in the House of Representatives and 45-3 in the Senate.
“This bill has serious flaws that I call on the General Assembly to fix during this short session,” Stein said. “It will eliminate health care coverage for nearly 27,000 pregnant women and children who are lawfully present in the United States, including victims of human trafficking, green card holders, and refugees. Women in need will be cut off from care in the middle of their pregnancies and children during their most vulnerable years. It is wrong. Fortunately, I believe that it is the General Assembly’s intent to fix this issue.
“The bill also layers onerous red tape that will force some North Carolinians to wait up to three months, longer than nearly every other state to get the health care benefits they are eligible to receive. And at a time when health care costs continue to burden working families, this bill makes Medicaid expansion recipients’ co-pays for certain health services more expensive.”
In funding, $80 million is nonrecurring for the Department of Adult Correction. Another $13.1 million is recurring and $8.5 million nonrecurring for the Division of Motor Vehicles. There is $10 million recurring and $1 million nonrecurring for the North Carolina Scholarship for Children of Wartime Veterans; and $2.5 million recurring and $1.2 million nonrecurring for the State Bureau of Investigation.
