NC Governor Roy Cooper requests federal waivers for food, Medicaid
Gov. Roy Cooper is requesting federal government waivers so more North Carolinians can get food and health care during the coronavirus pandemic.
As of Friday morning, North Carolina has more than 130 reported cases of COVID-19.
Cooper wrote a letter to President Donald J. Trump asking for the waivers.
In his letter, Cooper said that the “widespread panic surrounding COVID-19 has caused many retailers to experience extreme shortage of goods for purchase.”
Cooper is requesting the federal government loosen requirements for food benefits, especially for children. Schools are closed across the state until at least March 30.
“We need to get food to children who are now not in school and these waivers will help,” Cooper said in an emailed statement. “They also will help healthcare providers who need to concentrate on patients, not paperwork.”
Food benefit waivers requested include:
▪ Allow people to buy hot, ready-to-eat prepared meals with their North Carolina Food and Nutrition Services benefits, also known as SNAP, if bought in authorized retail food stores.
▪ Provide a supplemental FNS benefit for families with at least one eligible school age child.
▪ Allow flexibility to activate a Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for the state’s 100 counties.
▪ Extend FNS recertification periods for households who are already receiving benefits to reduce the risk of interruption.
▪ Increase flexibility in benefits for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, known as WIC, in case of food shortages.
▪ Increase flexibility within the School Nutrition Programs and with food items to serve all children in economically disadvantaged communities.
▪ Add flexibility for food times, meal locations and meal times in the Child and Adult Care Food Program.
Wake County has set up several food distribution locations, and other Triangle communities also have programs to feed students while schools are closed.
Medicaid waivers
Cooper also requested federal waivers for Medicaid, including:
▪ Eliminate limits on critical access beds and how long Medicaid will pay for a patient to be admitted to the hospital.
▪ Relax limitations on Medicaid payments for home and community-based services so high-risk patients can be treated at home to avoid high-traffic health care settings.
▪ Temporarily waive annual enrollment fee, copayments and unpaid enrollment fee balances; and waive prior authorization requirements for the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
This story was originally published March 20, 2020 at 10:12 AM.
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