Raleigh, N.C. – Legislation appropriating more than $460 million in state funding to North Carolina’s Medicaid program securing healthcare for over 2 million low-income citizens was approved by the State House of Representatives on Thursday.
Senate Bill 808 Medicaid Funding Act makes the following critical health care investments across North Carolina:
- $463 million for the Medicaid Rebase to ensure health care is accessible to millions of North Carolinians.
- $50 million for behavioral health and crisis services in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- $20 million for early childhood initiatives to assist in mitigating the financial impact due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- $100 million additional investment to expand COVID-19 testing, contact tracing, and analysis.
- $15 million to begin the relocation of the Department of Health and Human Services to another location in Wake County
The total amount invested in health care for North Carolina in S.B. 808 is more than $700 million.
The legislation also sets a July 2021 start date for North Carolina’s landmark Medicaid transformation and provides roughly $70 million to implement the initiative.
The legislation is another step towards transforming North Carolina’s once-broken Medicaid program from a fee-for-service system to what Secretary Mandy Cohen called “an innovative, whole-person-centered and well-coordinated system of care that addresses both medical and non-medical drivers of health.”
House Appropriations Committee Co-Chair Josh Dobson (R-McDowell) released a statement:
“Unlike many states facing dire Medicaid deficits, North Carolina can afford to dramatically increase funding for our State’s Medicaid program and provide health care to over 2 million of our citizens,” Rep. Dobson said.
North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) released a statement:
“Having fixed North Carolina’s once-broken Medicaid program we are now able to invest hundreds of millions of additional dollars in health care when we need it most,” Speaker Moore said.