Medicaid Managed Care Signed Into Law by North Carolina Governor

About 1.5 million North Carolinians will be moved into private Medicaid managed care plans over the next year.

Gov. Roy Cooper (D) signed into law Thursday a bill (S.B. 808) that funds efforts to shift Medicaid away from fee-for-service into a managed-care system. The overhaul is to begin by July 1, 2021.

The state got federal approval to make the shift in October 2018, but last year’s budget impasse stalled the transformation. Medicaid managed care is considered a cheaper way to treat people because private insurers who run the programs can strike network deals with doctors and hospitals.

Some 1.5 million state residents were to be moved into private Medicaid managed-care plans under the revamp, and insurers counting on $6 billion in contracts were left hanging when the implementation was delayed.

North Carolina hasn’t expanded its Medicaid program to cover people just above the federal poverty level. About two-thirds of the other states have taken that option, provided under the Affordable Care Act. An expansion effort was at the center of the 2019 budget fight.

S.B. 808 also includes additional funding for Covid-19 testing and tracing, which Cooper said are “vital in our fight against the pandemic.” The governor said Thursday that he will “continue working with legislators and the federal government to increase our testing and tracing capabilities to protect North Carolinians from this virus.”

Signings, Vetoes

Earlier in the week Cooper signed into law a bill (H.B. 471) that exempts from state insurance regulations direct primary-care agreements between doctors and patients because they technically aren’t in “the business of insurance.” He also signed another bill (S.B. 361) aimed at boosting public access to professional psychological services.

The governor also announced Thursday that he was vetoing several bills overriding his restrictions on skating rinks, amusement parks, and other venues and gatherings as well as a measure (H.B. 918) that he said “discourages pregnant women with substance use disorders from seeking treatment and prenatal care.”