June 29, 2020
In mid-April, the i2i Center for Integrative Health developed several surveys to collect data on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on behavioral health/I-DD Consumers, Providers, and Payers in the public system. It is our hope this information will be used by legislators, state leaders, and other partners moving forward as decisions related to COVID-19…
June 12, 2020
This week, S808, now called Medicaid Funding Act, was substantially changed through a committee substitute that was passed in the Senate Appropriations Committee. Here is the breakdown of the substitute bill: Related to Medicaid Transformation Changes start date for Standard Plans to no later than July 1, 2021; Authorizes each PHP, including the regional PHP…
June 5, 2020
Due to the continued pandemic, certain legal and regulatory changes around long-term care facilities (hospitals, group homes, mental health hospitals, etc.) have been made. It is important to remember that all of these changes are temporary, and are only happening because of COVID-19. The new rules are outlined in Executive Order 139 (https://files.nc.gov/governor/documents/files/EO139-DHHS2.pdf). To summarize,…
NC DHHS recently announced that they have formed the Carolina Community Tracing Collaborative, a new partnership with Community Care of North Carolina and the North Carolina Area Health Education Centers to expand contact tracing. According to the state, “Contact tracing is the process of supporting patients and notifying contacts of exposure in order to stop…
Due to the need for health and human service organizations to focus their available resources on the COVID-19 crisis, NC DHHS has announced the suspension of the start of the Healthy Opportunities Pilot program. A new award date for the Lead Pilot Entities has not been determined. The Healthy Opportunities Pilot Program would utilize Medicaid…
NC Governor Roy Cooper issued Executive Order 143 on June 4th addressing the racial disparities in the spread of COVID-19. The Executive Order notes among other things: “WHEREAS, environmental justice refers to the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation,…
“Because it is such a tight fiscal year, we’re going to have to be very fiscally prudent, and any dollars we spend, we spend on absolutely necessary expenses,” is a quote from NC Rep. Donny Lambeth in a May 26, 2020 article in the News & Observer (https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article243008661.html). His comment was made at a joint…
April 27, 2020
Governor Roy Cooper released his $1.4 billion spending proposal for North Carolina to address COVID-19 through July 30, 2020. In the proposal, the Governor recommends using every federal dollar available, starting with the CARES Act funding, before using State dollars. There are similarities in the categories the Governor identifies and the work group recommendations of…