This article is the second of several wrapping up the 2014 legislative session. Look for more details on the budget and issues related to education in coming days. The NC General Assembly passes two-year budgets during its long sessions in odd calendar years. During the short sessions, like this year, they make adjustments to the…
NC Budget Compromise Stalls; Managed Care/Medicaid Bill Gets More Changes
Budget Update Senate and House calendars have remained rather empty the past few weeks as we wrap up the third week of July without a budget deal. Last week, the leadership in both chambers exchanged another round of offers, but at the end of the day, there is no final budget adjustments bill. North Carolina…
General Assembly Budget Update and Action Alert!
Last week, the NC Senate passed a budget adjustments bill that proposes cuts to teacher’s assistants, other school funds, and Medicaid, including the cutting of so-called “optional populations,” such as those eligible for Special Assistance and the medically needy. See our previous post for details on the proposal. In short, these cuts would be devastating…
Senate Approves Budget Adjustments Bill
During the long legislative session last year, the NC General Assembly created a two-year budget for the state. During this year’s short legislative session, lawmakers review the budget and make adjustments based on current spending, revenues, and any new priorities that arose in the past year. The governor released his budget proposal several weeks ago,…
NC Legislative Session Starts May 14: What You Need to Know
May 14 begins the “short” session of the North Carolina General Assembly. The short session takes place in even years and lasts about 6-7 weeks. Typically, legislators will make adjustments to the budget and take up a few pieces of legislation that either were not completed the previous year or are being introduced based on…
A look back at a remarkable year
A few highlights from 2013 2013 was a busy year in the autism community. We witnessed the changeover in statewide service delivery from Local Management Entities (LMEs) to Managed Care Organizations (MCOs). Issues that had stalled for years with the legislature moved forward, but not all the way into law. And more families learned that…
Managed Care and Partnership for a Healthy North Carolina
In early April, the Governor McCrory announced a proposal to reform Medicaid under a new comprehensive Section 1115 waiver that would integrate all Medicaid services (physical health, mental health, long-term care, etc.) into a seamless statewide system under a managed care model known as the Partnership for a Healthy North Carolina. The proposal would, according…
More North Carolina Budget Woes
At the end of the legislative session, state budget writers went from debating a zero to 10 million dollar cut, to taking a 20 million dollar cut out of state funded services for people with developmental disabilities, mental illness and addictive disease. While it is the same cut as last year, it has much greater impact….
Time is Running Out for Feedback
[Note: this alert was also sent out to the Autism Society of North Carolina’s network of subscribers on June 8th, 2012] Time is running out to make your voice heard on the managed care system in North Carolina! The Autism Society of North Carolina, in collaboration with the Arc and other Developmental Disability Advocates,…