North Carolina’s governor has told the state health department to bring Medicaid reimbursement rates for care providers back up to where they were on September 30.
It comes after recent court rulings made it clear that the state can’t keep the lower rates that went into effect in October, when budget issues forced cuts to Medicaid.
“People who depend on Medicaid are hurting because the General Assembly didn’t fully fund the program,” Governor Josh Stein said. “We’re raising the rates because the courts say we have to, but there’s still a $319 million gap. Lawmakers need to step up and fully fund Medicaid so we can protect health care for over 3 million North Carolinians.”
Health Secretary Dev Sangvai added, “Medicaid is a lifeline for millions here. Not funding it properly puts people’s health at risk, and we can’t take that lightly.”
Right now, North Carolina is the only state without a budget in place.
The Department of Health and Human Services has been warning for months that Medicaid is short by hundreds of millions of dollars, and state officials said court decisions have made it harder to manage the shortfall.
Unless the legislature fills the gap, Medicaid could run out of money before the fiscal year ends, threatening care for millions across the state.
