Raleigh – N.C. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy Cohen recently warned that her office “can’t make a February start date” for Medicaid transformation “without a state budget in place.”
As of Friday, the state legislature was still at a budget impasse. With most Democrats wanting to expand Medicaid and the majority of Republicans pushing for Medicaid transformation, the stalemate is expected to last into next year.
As the state continues to operate on a continued budget, no funding for new programs will be released, which raises the question of Medicaid transformation beginning on the official start day of Feb. 20.
While the public waits on news from Raleigh, Graham County DSS Director Cris Weatherford asks that Medicaid recipients come into the office to “meet with an enrollment broker, to choose a plan and make sure they get to keep their doctor.
“The state has been in charge of sending out information and notices for people to come in to their local DSS and meet with enrollment brokers to select plan they will be on,” Weatherford added. “This determines which insurance agency will mange their Medicaid plan.”
Weatherford is concerned at how few people have visited the county DSS to choose a plan.
“People also need to be aware of the need to discuss with their doctor which plan their office has contracted with, so they can make sure their doctor is on the plan they select,” Weatherford stressed.
Medicaid recipients are advised to remain vigilant about budget news from Raleigh, as this will determined if, when and how Medicaid transformation takes place.