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State Medicaid Reform Could Be an Opportunity for Expansion

Liz Millar, Medicaid Expansion Project Coordinator · March 16, 2016 · 1 Comment

Several public hearings have been planned around the state over the next few months to receive public input on the new plan for Medicaid reform. The plan would move Medicaid, the state program that serves about 1.9 million North Carolina residents, from a fee-for-service format toward a managed-care format.

Under this change, Medicaid recipients can enroll in what the plan’s authors have called “a prepaid health plan” where a flat fee would cover all medical services for most recipients. Senate Republican leaders say they feel the plan for reform will provide better budget predictability by capping the amount spent per person per year.

Projections regarding the success of the reform plan are mixed. Medicaid reform has already been approved in the state and became law in September 2015. However, the details of the plan must be approved by the federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services before it can be implemented. While the state legislature is on track to present the reform plan by June 1, the federal approval could take years, especially as individual state plans for reform have not been a priority for the current administration.

What has been a priority, however, is Medicaid expansion. As our legislature still has not moved on accepting millions of dollars in federal funding to expand Medicaid coverage, an opportunity presents itself to combine the state plan for reform with one for expansion.

A plan for reform with expansion in NC has the potential to take priority at the federal level and fast track the plan’s approval. And while the benefits and costs of reform are still under scrutiny, the benefits of expansion, which include expanded health care coverage, economic stimulus, tax revenues, and job growth, are clear.

Medicaid expansion supporters around the state are mobilizing to attend the public hearings and let our voices be heard. This is a crucial opportunity to move on closing the health care coverage gap and urge our legislature to accept federal funding to do so.

The NC Health Access Coalition is working to circulate talking points for supporters of expansion who would like to attend the hearing. We are in need of point people at each of the twelve hearings. Please contact Liz Millar at liz@ncchurches.org for more information or if you’d like to serve as a point person or attend a hearing in support of expansion.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Health, Healthcare Reform, N.C. General Assembly

About Liz Millar, Medicaid Expansion Project Coordinator

Liz is a native of New Jersey but landed in North Carolina in 2010 in search of warmer climates. Liz has served in a range of non-traditional educational roles since getting her BA in Sociology from Boston College. These have included Peace Corps Vanuatu, teaching environmental education in coastal North Carolina, and directing a NC prekindergarten program. Liz has most recently worked on community engagement with UNC’s Translational and Clinical Sciences Institute. She is excited to bring her passion for education, community engagement, and social justice to this new position.

Liz is currently finishing her Master in Public Health Degree at UNC-Chapel Hill and spends her free time enjoying the outdoors, trying new recipes, and working with UNC’s Classroom to Community Volunteer Program.

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