N. Carolina Medicaid Bill Delays Managed Care Until Mid-2021

North Carolina’s Medicaid program wouldn’t shift most of its patients to managed care for another year under a funding measure given tentative approval by the state Senate. The July 2021 start date is contained in a bill that also locates additional expenses during the next fiscal year for Medicaid. The shift from a traditional fee-for-service program to managed care was supposed to begin late last year and early this year, but it got derailed during a legislative showdown between Republican legislators and Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper. The measure given tentative Senate approval on Tuesday also provides a financial disincentive for further managed-care delays.