Rockingham County Represented at Event Focused on Improving Medicaid Application Process

WENTWORTH, N.C., March 10 -- Rockingham County issued the following news:

Chairman Mark F. Richardson and Commissioner A. Reece Pyrtle, Jr., joined representatives from counties across the state for a day-long workshop in Raleigh focused on improving the administration process for various Medicaid programs.

The event, entitled "County Convening on Medicaid," was sponsored by the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC).

It brought together county commissioners, county managers, local directors of social services, and representatives from the NC Department of Health and Human Services to share best practices to improve the application process for Medicaid programs.

Both Richardson and Pyrtle were impressed by the workshop. "The complexity of health issues & Medicaid in particular require that all elected officials thoroughly research all aspects of the issue," Richardson said. "I thought it was a great opportunity to see how other counties across the state are impacted by the complex Medicaid system," Pyrtle added.

In North Carolina, the Medicaid program is administered by county departments of social services, which are charged with determining financial eligibility for applicants. Medicaid covers 2.3 million people in North Carolina, providing health insurance for eligible children, seniors, persons with disabilities, and low-income individuals. Earlier this year, the State Auditor released a report, which assessed the performance of Medicaid recipient eligibility determinations made by ten counties. The report found that several counties had difficulty making eligibility determinations in a timely and accurate manner. The link to the report: (http://www.ncauditor.net/EPSWeb/Reports/FiscalControl/FCA-2015-4440.pdf)

The purpose of the NCACC event was to provide a forum for counties to engage in peer to peer dialogue to address the issues highlighted in the audit and uncover new opportunities to enhance performance. The event featured several speakers with subject matter expertise including state leaders from the NC Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Medical Assistance, as well as County Directors of Social Services from Johnston, Wake and Wilkes Counties.

The speakers shed light on a range of challenges counties faced over the last several years including an influx of new applications, new Medicaid policies, and the implementation of the online processing system NC FAST, which dramatically transformed the way Medicaid programs are processed in North Carolina. Speakers also offered constructive guidance on specific steps certain counties took that helped improve their performance. Rep. Josh Dobson, a former McDowell County commissioner, and Sen. Tommy Tucker, a former Union County commissioner, also spoke at the event and expressed their support for the work counties are doing to implement recommendations from the report.

The event also included an update from Brian Bowden, Associate Legislative Director for Health Policy for National Association of County Commissioners (NACo), on recent developments at the federal level.

You can find video footage from the County Convening on Medicaid and related information on the NCACC website.

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