Legislative Update:
Medicaid Crisis Hits North Carolina?

Medicaid is a Federal program that pays for approximately 2/3 of the cost of the majority of the services that RHA provides in North Carolina. The state and county make up the other 1/3 of the cost. 

The bad news is that the Federal government wants to put a limit on how much medical care they will pay for, meaningless money from Washington. That, in general, often translates to more expenses at home or a cut in services to those who currently qualify for Medicaid. 

According to a recent article in the News and Observer, “That's the outlook for Medicaid, the government health insurance program for the poor. ”Our neighbor state, Tennessee, recently told over 300,000 poor, elderly and disabled people that they could no longer get medical care funded by Medicaid. This is the most frightening alternative that could be chosen for people who have disabilities in North Carolina.

There is no doubt that Medicaid expenses at the state and local level have increased. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation report on Medicaid, the increase in the cost of Medicaid is largely due to the downturn in the economy. When families lose their jobs and their health insurance, many become eligible for Medicaid funded health care. 

Recent research has also shown that the rate of increase for Medicaid is below that of private insurance. In North Carolina, many Medicaid funded providers have had to absorb rate cuts or have not gotten any inflationary increases in years. This makes it harder and harder to give staff pay increases that keep pace with inflation. 

Before long, we will probably be calling on our friends and family members to help us inform both the state and national legislatures how important the services funded by Medicaid are to you and your loved ones. 

In North Carolina, we also want them to understand what the financial impact of the loss of thousands of jobs will be. We want them to understand that this not only means the loss of the payroll tax revenues and jobs that are 2/3 funded by the Federal government. It also means the increased costs to the state for unemployment expenses, the costs to local economies when people can no longer buy the goods and services of the local merchants, the costs of bankruptcies, and all the other “hidden”costs.

We will keep you informed about important developments as they occur and we look forward to your support on this critical issue.