Written by GARY D. ROBERTSON
A proposal on how North Carolina should spend $1 billion in one-time funds from the federal government to improve mental health care for children, adults and criminal offenders is taking shape with a bipartisan House measure filed on Tuesday.
The legislation goes into detail on what to do with a large chunk of the anticipated $1.8 billion to be received stemming from the state’s decision last month to expand Medicaid coverage to hundreds of thousands of low-income people.
More people are struggling with mental health and substance abuse disorders — leading to higher rates of depression, drug overdoses and youth suicide, according to Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s administration.
“We stand united before you, committing our resources against a common enemy,” Rep. Kristin Baker, a Cabarrus County Republican, psychiatrist and a bill sponsor, said at a Legislative Building news conference. “And it’s an enemy that threatens us. It threatens to steal our joy, it threatens to steal our children, threatens to steal our lives.”
The proposal largely aligns with Cooper’s suggestions in his state budget that he unveiled last month, and was developed with help from state health department leaders, according to Rep. Donny Lambeth, a Forsyth County Republican and another sponsor.
The lack of more private and public hospital beds contributes to 300 people daily sitting in emergency departments seeking behavioral health services, House members said. And they say dozens of children with complex service needs are sleeping in these departments or in local social services offices.
“There is nowhere else for them to go,” Democratic Rep. Carla Cunningham of Mecklenburg County, another sponsor.
Tuesday’s bill would spend $225 million to raise over three years reimbursement rates for behavioral healthcare providers to care for Medicaid patients. The proposal envisions spending $100 million toward caring for people in state psychiatric facilities, including to help raise compensation for the hospitals’ workers and to implement electronic medical records programs there.
There’s $150 million to assist with helping people within the criminal justice system get mental health treatment or avoid jail. Other spending would help develop community-based mental health services, including mobile crisis teams and short-term accommodations for youth in need of services and housing for adults. There’s also money for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
Lambeth, a chief House budget-writer, said he hoped that the spending line items are ultimately added to the final state budget. He said a key senator on mental health issues has expressed support for the spending, with some exceptions.
Lambeth acknowledged that since the $1 billion is a one-time bonus, some long-term initiatives contained in the House proposal would need more permanent sources of money.
The Senate is expected to pass its version of the budget in May. The House’s edition of the budget set aside the $1 billion in reserves but didn’t contain specifics on how to spend it.
Thanks to language in the Medicaid expansion law, a separate state budget law must be enacted for the coming year in order for expansion to occur, and ultimately for receipt of the bonus funds.
Photo via Mark Stebnicki.
Related Stories
‹

N. Carolina Legislators Reach Medicaid Expansion DealWritten by GARY D. ROBERTSON North Carolina legislative leaders announced Thursday an agreement to expand Medicaid to hundreds of thousands of additional low-income adults through the Affordable Care Act. The deal, which likely won’t be voted on until later this month, marks a milestone for Republican lawmakers, most of whom opposed expansion for a decade […]

Medicaid Expansion Breakthrough Within Reach in N. CarolinaWritten by GARY D. ROBERTSON After a decade of vigorous opposition, most North Carolina Republicans have now embraced the idea of expanding the state’s Medicaid program to cover hundreds of thousands of additional low-income adults. Legislative approval finally appears within reach. During the General Assembly session that ended July 1, the GOP-controlled House and Senate passed separate, bipartisan measures […]

Medicaid Expansion Bill Debate Is Renewed in North CarolinaWritten by GARY D. ROBERTSON The North Carolina General Assembly began on Tuesday what could become the final push to expand Medicaid to hundreds of thousands of low-income adults in the state with a House measure that quickly advanced through committee with bipartisan support. The legislation scheduled for debate on the House floor Wednesday would direct […]

After 1 Year, Medicaid Expansion in North Carolina Nears Its Enrollment GoalEnrollment in North Carolina’s new Medicaid coverage has nearly reached the state's goal of 600,000 in half of the time initially projected.

North Carolina Medicaid Expansion Still Set for Dec. 1 Start as Federal Regulators Give Final OKWritten by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Federal regulators have given their final approval for North Carolina to begin offering Medicaid to hundreds of thousands of low-income adults on Dec. 1, state health officials announced on Friday. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services told the state in a letter Thursday that changes to North Carolina’s Medicaid program to provide […]

Republicans Ditch Efforts to Expand Legal Gambling in North Carolina, Will Pass Budget This WeekWritten by GARY D. ROBERTSON North Carolina Republican legislative leaders ditched late Tuesday efforts this year to dramatically multiply legal gambling in the state, announcing instead that they will pass a final budget without it that also would trigger Medicaid coverage to begin for hundreds of thousands of adults. “We think this is the […]

North Carolina Republicans Are in a Budget Standoff Because of Gambling ProvisionsWritten by GARY D. ROBERTSON Republicans at the North Carolina legislature converged Tuesday in a standoff over an already long-delayed budget plan because the House and Senate disagree on adding provisions that would further expand state-sanctioned gambling. House Speaker Tim Moore said not enough of his GOP colleagues in the chamber are willing to support a […]

Medicaid Expansion Won't Begin in North Carolina on Oct. 1 Because There's Still No Final BudgetWritten by GARY D. ROBERTSON With the state budget’s passage now two months late, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper’s administration announced Monday that it can’t start the implementation of Medicaid expansion to hundreds of thousands of low-income adults in the early fall as it had wanted. State Health and Human Services Secretary Kody Kinsley said that […]

As NC Waits for Medicaid Expansion, Federal Provision Could Leave Some in Coverage GapNorth Carolina lawmakers came to an agreement to expand the state’s Medicaid services. But a recent change may leave some in a healthcare gap.

More on $1 Billion for N. Carolina Mental Health UnveiledWritten by GARY D. ROBERTSON A proposal on how North Carolina should spend $1 billion in one-time funds from the federal government to improve mental health care for children, adults and criminal offenders is taking shape with a bipartisan House measure filed on Tuesday. The legislation goes into detail on what to do with a large […]
›
Comments on Chapelboro are moderated according to our Community Guidelines