North Carolina to Delay Medicaid Expansion

North Carolina’s legislature has chosen to delay implementing Medicaid expansion for at least another year. Instead, the legislature passed NC Senate Bill 808, which was signed by Governor Roy Cooper on July 2, 2020. The bill provides funding for the Medicaid transformation project to continue transitioning from a fee-for-service model to managed care organizations. It also provides that the NC Department of Health and Human Services must be ready for Medicaid transformation beginning July 1, 2021, and provides additional funding for COVID-19 related issues.

Transition was originally scheduled to begin February 1, 2020, with statewide implementation June 1, 2020, but was postponed by the Secretary of Health in November 2019.