Source: North Carolina Health News
According to NC Health News, the latest approved Medicaid funding by the Republican-led state legislature fails to meet obligations for the program.
For the 2024-25 fiscal year, the state Department of Health and Human Services asked for almost half a billion dollars extra to meet higher costs — an adjustment known as the “rebase,” NC Health News reports.
According to DHHS, additional funding is needed because the state will receive less money as federal reimbursement decreases for the program.
The funding, approved by the state legislature in a “mini-budget,” comes to $81 million below what state health officials had asked.
This drastic decrease in funding has forced the department to evaluate how to manage the Medicaid program with an $81 million shortfall. In addition, the department will have to navigate with no additional funding for the costs associated with the Medicaid program’s switch from being state-run to being managed by large insurance companies, according to NC Health News.
Ahead of the vote last week, Senator Lisa Grafstein (D-Raleigh) said on the Senate floor that changes in the Medicaid system can disrupt care for recipients.
“People who rely on Medicaid can’t just dip into their savings,” stated Sen. Grafstein.
Sen. Grafstein also highlighted that the mini budget does nothing for over 18,000 North Carolinians on a waitlist for an Innovations waiver, which would give at-home Medicaid services to those with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
This comes months after the department warned of cost changes and asked the legislature for funding adjustments based on predictions.
“This is the first year that they’re really just not funding even close to the level that we’ve requested,” Melanie Bush, deputy Medicaid director at DHHS, told NC Health News back in July.
“It is not our intention to cut services or limit anything that they may have access to today, but there are real-life impacts to having an underfunded budget.”
