Health spending plan in NC House has temporary Medicaid expansion for COVID-19 patients

State lawmakers plan to return to Raleigh Tuesday for the start of a new session, when they will tackle issues regarding the coronavirus — including a proposed temporary expansion of Medicaid to help with COVID-19.

A draft bill to appropriate $669 million to the COVID-19 health-care response won approval last week from a committee formed to deal with that issue in the state House.

“This package is a robust plan based on what we have heard from our communities from the mountains to the ocean,” said Rep. Donny Lambeth, R-Forsyth.

The draft bill would allocate $40 million to be used for Medicaid costs, including support for long-term care, primary care and other providers dealing with disrupted revenue. It also pays for the costs of COVID-19 testing and treatment.

The money would also cover costs due to increased Medicaid enrollment. The bill would require the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services to provide a 5% increase in fee-for-service rates paid to certain providers by the Division of Health Benefits. The department would also be required to provide Medicaid coverage to cover COVID-19 testing to the uninsured.

The draft bill would also allow for DHHS to offer temporary, targeted Medicaid coverage to people with income up to 200% of the federal poverty level, but only for the prevention, testing and treatment of COVID-19.

The idea may have a harder time winning approval in the Senate, which has resisted Medicaid expansion in the past.

The draft bill also lifts certain parts of the state law for provider enrollment to the Medicaid and Health Choice programs to deal with COVID-19.

PPE, supplies

Outside of Medicaid changes, the draft bill would give $25 million each to support public health, the State Laboratory of Public Health, local health departments and rural health providers to support behavioral health and crisis support.

It also would provide $50 million from the Coronavirus Relief Fund to the Office of State Budget and Management for personal protective equipment and other medical supplies needed to respond to COVID-19. Another $25 million would be allocated for testing, tracing and trend tracking analysis. The bill also would provide funding for food, safety, shelter and child care.

The draft bill would provide $25 million to help with adult and child protective services and $6 million to fund six food banks around the state. Another $2.25 million in increments of $100 for April, May and June would go to the state’s foster children.

Lawmakers also want to allocate money to help with COVID-19 relief for rural hospitals, free and charitable clinics and non-rural hospitals, and for COVID-19 research.

Lambeth said he considers this the first phase in the committee’s COVID-19 response and that the lawmakers will continue to monitor the situation and come back if needed.

This story was originally published April 27, 2020 at 1:12 PM.