State Budget Update: The NC Senate passed SB 105, their version of the state budget bill, on Friday, June 25. This year’s budget contains a mix of state appropriations and allocations of federal funding that has come to North Carolina through several “recovery act” bills. The NC House is expected to release their budget bill sometime in mid-July. The House and Senate will have to reconcile differences between their budget bills though the conference committee report before sending the final budget to the…
June 9: Legislative Day of Action for Direct Support Wages
ASNC and a coalition of groups across IDD, aging, and home and community-based health services will be rallying at the General Assembly on June 9 in support of increased wages for direct support workers. Legislators have heard our decade of advocacy for increased access to services, and we expect to see more waiver slots in the upcoming budget. Access to waivers must go…
Public Policy Update
Listen to our latest podcast about these policy developments. Federal Actions American Rescue Act: Congress passed an additional COVID and economic relief bill – the American Rescue Plan (ARP) – in early March. The legislation includes a number of items meant to address ongoing problems related to the pandemic including $1,400 stimulus checks for many Americans (including dependents and individuals with disabilities); an extension of unemployment benefits; additional funding…
Update on Medicaid Transformation: What You Need to Know
The NC Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is in the process of implementing Medicaid transformation in North Carolina. In this process, Medicaid recipients will have their health services transitioned from a fee-for-service model to managed care, which allows for physical and behavioral health services to be administered in one plan. Our state’s plan…
Parent to Parent, Part 2: Practical Considerations for End-of-Life Planning
In part one of this two-part series, we addressed the fact that parents and caregivers for loved ones with disabilities such as autism will need to plan in advance for their eventual death to ensure the appropriate steps are taken for their loved one in their absence. In abstract terms, this process includes envisioning the…
Setting the Record Straight: Medicaid Waivers, Medicaid Expansion, Medicaid Transformation
Note: The following is a primer on several issues happening at the same time in our Medicaid system. For background information on Medicaid as a whole, and how Medicaid works in North Carolina, please refer to the “Medicaid Basics” information at the end of this post, content re-published from our public policy papers available on…
Medicaid Transformation Suspended
Update, March 2021: If you are looking for more recent information about Medicaid Transformation, please visit this post. ——- Editor’s note: This is an update to information posted Sept. 11, 2019. The managed-care rollout has been suspended by DHHS at this time. As a result of the budget impasse, NC DHHS has suspended the roll…
New Timeline for Medicaid Transformation
Update, March 2021: If you are looking for more recent information about Medicaid Transformation, please visit this post. Editor’s note: This is an update to information posted July 16, 2019. The managed-care rollout has been changed to one phase for the whole state in February 2020, rather than starting in November 2019 with some counties. Open enrollment is now scheduled to end on December 13 for all counties. The NC Department of…
Medicaid Transformation: What You Need to Know
Update, March 2021: If you are looking for more recent information about Medicaid Transformation, please visit this post. Editor’s note: This information is current as of July 16, 2019. Please note, a variety of factors may affect the timeline or other components of the transformation plan. The NCGA, state budget, and other system or administrative issues…