North Carolina Leaders Agree on $319 Million Medicaid Rebase With Oversight Reforms

Overview

• House and Senate leaders unveiled HB 696 to plug a $319 million Medicaid shortfall, cast it as an accountability push, and set votes for this week pending the governor’s sign-off.
• Rebasing Medicaid adjusts state money to match higher costs and enrollment for the current fiscal year, which ends June 30.
• The bill tightens program integrity with monthly eligibility reviews, tougher documentation that curbs self-attestation, citizenship and immigration checks, audits by State Auditor Dave Boliek’s office, annual transparency reports, and a DHHS plan to boost efficiency.
• Service rules would also change for autism therapy known as ABA, adding limits on telehealth, closer supervision, and updated provider credentials that could affect how families access care.
• Lawmakers left funding for a proposed Apex children’s hospital out of the measure and folded in other appropriations, including $80 million for Adult Correction, added support for the DMV, scholarships for children of wartime veterans, and the State Bureau of Investigation.