(The Center Square) – Medicaid, a top five element of the 295 days late state budget, is resolved for North Carolina’s fiscal year ending June 30, the Republican leader of the House of Representative said early Monday evening.
This year’s rebase will get $319 million along with an aggressive approach to “rooting out Medicaid waste, fraud and abuse,” says a release from Rep. Destin Hall, R-Caldwell. Final vote for passage will happen Tuesday on the Health Care Practitioner Transparency Act, known also as House Bill 696.
The proposal will need vote approval from the Senate and a signature from first-term Democratic Gov. Josh Stein.
“Medicaid should serve the people who truly need it, and this bill makes sure that happens,” Hall said. “After Governor Stein and his administration let costs run wild, we’re tightening things up by adding common-sense guardrails that cut down on waste, fraud and abuse in the program. North Carolina taxpayers deserve confidence that their money is being spent wisely, and patients deserve a system that prioritizes care for those who depend on it the most.”
Medicaid rebase means an adjustment to fiscal support because of costs and or volume of people enrolled.
The bill has more frequent eligibility reviews; stronger documentation requirements; citizenship and immigration verification; 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.
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.
