ADVOCACY By Gregory K. Griggs, MPA, CAE NCAFP Executive Vice President
~ ACADEMY IN ACTION ~
2020 Legislative Session in Review In mid-July, the 2020 Session of the North Carolina General Assembly came to a close, well, sort of a close. The General Assembly will technically return in early September to address additional financial issues related to the coronavirus. However, several important bills were finalized during the 2020 legislative session. Key bills are summarized below. Medicaid Transformation – Senate Bill 808 A bill designed to move Medicaid Transformation forward and fully fund Medicaid’s fiscal needs over the next year passed both chambers of the General Assembly and was signed into law by the Governor. Senate Bill 808 sets July 1, 2021, as the go live date for Medicaid to move to the managed care model. The bill also sets aside funding for a new Department of Health and Human Services headquarters in Wake County (the legislature had previously threatened to move DHHS out of Raleigh), fully funds the Medicaid rebase, provides additional funding to the Department to assist in managing the COVID-19 pandemic, and provides additional resources needed to implement Medicaid Transformation. Originally, the bill required penalty payments to the managed care plans if transformation does not go live by July 1st of next year. Those penalties were eliminated, but the legislation does direct the Department to move the
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The North Carolina Family Physician
