Written by GARY D. ROBERTSON

North Carolina’s hospitals and hospital systems on Friday unveiled an offer that could shake up stalled negotiations to pass legislation that would expand Medicaid to cover hundreds of thousands of low-income adults in the state.

The North Carolina Healthcare Association said the offer sent to Republican legislative leaders and Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper also contained reforms to some state laws that require regulatory approval before certain medical buildings can be constructed or services offered in a region.

Senate leader Phil Berger this summer accused the association of refusing to compromise on “certificate of need” rules. Changes to these rules were contained in the Senate version of an expansion measure approved in June. Berger said they were needed to increase the supply of medical services that would be needed to treat the growing Medicaid population.

Cooper, a big expansion proponent, told reporters earlier this week that it would make sense for hospitals to negotiate with Berger on those rules, which hospitals contend help community facilities that disproportionately serve the uninsured or underinsured remain open.

“Our board of trustees has made the difficult decision to propose certificate of need law reforms,” board chair Dr. Roxie Wells said in a news release. “CON law changes could threaten the survival of community hospitals if they are not implemented carefully. We are putting a lot of trust in legislative leaders to do this correctly.”

The House passed its own expansion bill during the final week of the General Assembly’s primary work session this year that contained none of the medical supply-side proposals that the Senate wanted. House Speaker Tim Moore has said Republicans in his chamber would prefer to handle those provisions separately from expansion.

Moore’s office was still reviewing the offer late Friday, Chief of Staff Neal Inman said. Berger spokesperson Lauren Horsch said the same thing, adding: “We appreciate the NCHA’s willingness to come to the table with a proposal.” There was no immediate response late Friday from Cooper’s office.

The General Assembly is scheduled to reconvene Tuesday for what’s expected to be a three-day administrative session with no recorded floor votes. They are next scheduled to return to Raleigh in October.

North Carolina is one of a dozen states that have yet to accept the federal government’s offer to cover people who make too much to be insured by traditional Medicaid but too little to receive subsidized private insurance. The federal government would pay 90% of the medical costs of expansion.

The association said its proposal would have hospitals paying a majority of the state’s share to cover another 600,000 people at a cost of over $550 million annually. The state’s hospitals also would participate in a federally funded program that would enhance their Medicaid reimbursement rates for providing care, providing new revenues.

The proposal would do away with certificate of need laws for psychiatric inpatient beds and beds to treat people with chemical dependency. It also, within five years, would scale back regulations for operating rooms within ambulatory surgical centers, which the association says would result in a loss of revenue for them.

“Each day the General Assembly waits is a day that harms 600,000 North Carolinians,” association president and CEO Steve Lawler said. “We hope that any legislation crafted will be done in a thoughtful way that protects health care facilities that take care of people and improve community health.”

 

Related Stories
‹
After 1 Year, Medicaid Expansion in North Carolina Nears Its Enrollment Goal
Enrollment in North Carolina’s new Medicaid coverage has nearly reached the state's goal of 600,000 in half of the time initially projected.
Cooper Details Mental Health Plan; GOP Sets Budget Limits
Written by GARY D. ROBERTSON North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper unveiled on Wednesday a $1 billion plan to address the state’s mental health and substance abuse needs, which have spiked amid increasing overdose deaths and spiraling rates of suicide among young people. The Democratic governor’s office said his initiatives, which will be outlined in his upcoming state budget […]
N. Carolina Legislators Reach Medicaid Expansion Deal
Written 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 […]
North Carolina to Launch Medicaid Expansion on Dec. 1
Medicaid expansion will launch December 1 in North Carolina, Governor Roy Cooper announced on Monday — something he's sought for seven years.
North Carolina Republicans Are in a Budget Standoff Because of Gambling Provisions
Written 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 Budget
Written 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 […]
More on $1 Billion for N. Carolina Mental Health Unveiled
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 […]
North Carolina Could Expand Medicaid For as Many as 600,000
Written by GARY D. ROBERTSON With North Carolina’s two legislative chambers at odds over details of a comprehensive plan for health care access, the House gave tentative approval on Wednesday to a linchpin of any agreement with the Senate by voting to expand Medicaid to more low-income adults. With robust bipartisan support, the chamber voted […]
Senate Leader: NC Hospitals’ Medicaid Proposal Not ‘Serious'
Written by GARY D. ROBERTSON North Carolina Senate leader Phil Berger on Tuesday called an offer from state hospitals to expand Medicaid to hundreds of thousands of the working poor “not a serious proposal,” saying loosened regulations for medical construction projects didn’t go far enough. Berger’s dismissal of the proposal late last week from the North Carolina […]
N. Carolina Hospitals Offer New Medicaid Expansion Proposal
Written by GARY D. ROBERTSON North Carolina’s hospitals and hospital systems on Friday unveiled an offer that could shake up stalled negotiations to pass legislation that would expand Medicaid to cover hundreds of thousands of low-income adults in the state. The North Carolina Healthcare Association said the offer sent to Republican legislative leaders and Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper also […]
›