Medicaid expansion set to pass in North Carolina with final ceremonial vote Thursday
Cooper's signature is all that remains to be done after the House on Wednesday afternoon voted to concur on second reading, 95-21, with the
Changes to
For about that long, state Sen.
"Today marks an important day for so many
"This has been a long, bumpy journey, but we are here to make history and move
Said Rep.
When Cooper signs it – and a ceremonial but unusual voice vote on a third reading must occur on Thursday before he can – HB 76 would become law immediately in some cases, but the full expansion of Medicaid will occur with the passage of a biennial budget.
Still, this bill removes
There will be immediate help for local hospitals that will be able to seek reimbursement through the federal Healthcare Access and Stabilization Program (or HASP). The bill has several aspects that are designed to improve healthcare access in rural areas.
The delay for full rollout until after the budget passes, though, means that Employees of the
These are people who were receiving coverage through the first Coronavirus Response Act under a stipulation that states keep all Medicaid-eligible residents covered, regardless of whether that state had expanded Medicaid under provisions of the Affordable Care Act.
As Lambeth explained on the House floor, the state will realize
He does have that one last little hurdle that usually isn't there, that ceremonial voice vote on a third reading. "Concurrence votes are rarely more than one vote, but staff ie legal team advised the bill coming back from
How the bill came to be
State Sen.
"We have been talking about this for a long time," Krawiec said debate last week. "Actually we have been talking about this long before many of us arrived here in
"Many of us were opposed for a very long time. I was one of those. We were dealing with a broken Medicaid cycle in
She cited nine years of balanced budgets, underscored the negotiated aspects of the bill, called it a "lifeline for rural hospitals" and the inclusion of a work requirement that could become a federally accepted pilot program.
But Cooper decried that entanglement with the budget process even as he praised the next step. Some legislators also said they wished the expansion was immediate, because delays cost the state revenue payments from the federal government.
The budget process often becomes long, arduous and entangled in political gamesmanship. Senate Leader
They also have said they have agreed on the first aspects of their 2-year budget: a 6.5% increase for 2023 and 3.75% for 2024. Cooper had submitted a budget proposal to them that Berger immediately said was too extreme in spending.
Moore has promised to deliver his spending plan to the
The Medicaid expansion plan
Amended version of House Bill 76 by
The compromise that Berger and Moore announced two weeks ago included these stipulations:
* The new version of the bill will eliminate certificate of need for:
* Behavioral health beds
* Chemical dependence beds
* Raise replacement equipment threshold to
* Increase threshold for diagnostic centers to
* MRI machines in counties with a population above 125,000 effective three years from first HASP payment.
* Ambulatory surgery centers in counties with a population above 125,000, effective two years from first HASP payment for multispecialty and single specialty.
* 4% charity care requirement for ambulatory surgery centers (in counties with population above 125,000).
* Annual reporting requirement regarding charity care.
* HASP would become effective immediately.
* Medicaid expansion would be effective only upon passage of the 2023 budget.
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