North Carolina Medicaid providers will see at least a 3% cut in reimbursement rates beginning Oct. 1, with services like long-term behavioral healthcare, hospital care, nursing homes and physicians seeing 8% to 10% in cuts.
The cuts come after state lawmakers passed a stopgap “mini budget” spending plan, which leaves Medicaid with a $319 million shortfall, despite allocating $600 million for Medicaid oversight fund and rebase.
“More than 3 million people in North Carolina depend on Medicaid for comprehensive care that is life-changing and in many cases lifesaving,” North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Dev Sangvai said in an Aug. 6 news release. “Underfunding NC Medicaid now, after years of building a nationally recognized program that delivers real outcomes for the people we serve, is a serious setback.”
The reductions could force some providers to stop accepting Medicaid patients, a spokesperson for the department said in an Aug. 19 statement shared with Becker’s.
“Additionally, NC Medicaid will no longer be able to offer GLP-1 coverage for weight loss, and we will pull back financial funding for the integrated care for kids pilot, which will end early,” the statement said. “These changes will take effect on Oct. 1, 2025.”
NCDHHS said the cuts are structured to be reversible, should additional funding be approved.
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