VOLUME 5 ISSUE 53
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WWW.NSJONLINE.COM
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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2021
the Wednesday
NEWS BRIEFING
Nominations open for 2021 North Carolina Awards Raleigh Nominations are open for the 2021 North Carolina Award, the highest civilian honor bestowed by the state. The nomination period lasts through April 15. “This award is a great opportunity to celebrate the best of North Carolina and the resilient, generous spirit that defines our state,” Gov. Roy Cooper said. Created by the General Assembly in 1961 and administered by the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, the award recognizes “notable accomplishments by North Carolina citizens” in the fields of literature, science, fine arts and public service. NSJ STAFF
Trump to speak at CPAC in first post-White House appearance Washington, D.C. Donald Trump will be making his first postpresidential appearance at a conservative gathering in Orlando, Florida. The American Conservative Union confirmed that Trump will be speaking at the group’s annual Conservative Political Action Conference on Feb. 28. Trump is expected to use the speech to talk about the future of the Republican Party and the conservative moment, as well as to criticize President Joe Biden’s efforts to undo his immigration policies.
ISABELLE LAVALETTE | FOR THE NORTH STATE JOURNAL
Welcome to District 12 Pictured is Henry River Mill Village in Burke County. The abandoned mill town was used to portray the hometown of the Hunger Games' heroine Katniss Everdeen. For more on North Carolina sites used in scenes from the iconic films, see our "Murphy to Manteo" map on A4-5.
NORTH
STATE
JOURNaL ELEVATE THE CONVERSATION
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Drug execs face Capitol Hill questions on vaccine supply Washington, D.C. Executives from the major COVID-19 vaccine producers answered questions Tuesday from Congress about expanding the supply of shots needed to curb the pandemic. The Energy and Commerce Committee panel began hearing testimony from the five companies with contracts to supply COVID-19 shots to the U.S.: Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca and Novavax. More than 75 million doses of the two-shot-regimen vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna have already been distributed to states, with nearly 14% of Americans receiving at least an initial dose. J&J revealed it will be able to supply 20 million U.S. doses of its single-shot COVID-19 vaccine by the end of March, assuming it gets the green light from federal regulators, which could come as soon as this weekend. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ABC permit deferral bill to help bars sent to Gov. Roy Cooper Raleigh A bill designed to bring relief in the form of ABC permit and fee deferrals to bars kept closed by Gov. Roy Cooper’s executive orders went to his desk last week. On Feb. 17, House Bill 4 passed unanimously through both chambers, with the House voting 118-0 and Senate 47-0, and was sent to Cooper on the same day. The bill, if signed, retroactively extends deferral of ABC permit fees for bars and clubs kept closed under Section 8 of Executive Order 141 until 90 days after all executive orders limiting the operation of those establishments either expire or are rescinded. “These are family businesses hurting, who need help now and should not be required to pay fees to a state government that is strictly limiting their ability to generate revenue and operate as planned,” Rep. Tim Moffitt (R-Henderson) said in a statement. A.P. DILLON, NORTH STATE JOURNAL
Lawmakers press Gov. Cooper to sign bill reopening schools More House Democrats favor bill in final vote By A.P. Dillon North State Journal
Audit of Medicaid reveals millions in overpayments, improper verification Co-chair of Senate Health Care Committee questions NCDHHS ability to administer the program
185 never had their credentials verified and none of the 191 had their ownership verified. The audit says $11.4 million was paid out to uncredentialed providers. An example includes the president of an assisted living faciliBy A.P. Dillon ty who is a defendant in a lawsuit North State Journal alleging $60 million in MedicRALEIGH — A state audit aid fraud. The suit alleges he did of the Medicaid provider en- not disclose his controlling inrollment process overseen by terest in an assisted living facilthe N.C. Department of Health ity which was paid an estimated $1.8 million by Medand Human Services icaid. (NCDHHS) revealed In response to millions in overpaythe ownership check ments, including ineligible and possibly "The oversight failures, the agency claimed they aren’t redangerous providers. failures quired to check for The N.C. Medthat information deicaid’s Division of identified by spite the fact the CenHealth Benefits web- the auditor ters for Medicaid and page states, “We are Medicare Services’ proud of our commit- seem so best practices include ment to be good stew- basic and so ownership checks and ards of taxpayer monproblematic verifications with liey while continuing censing boards. In her to provide valuable that it raises response, NCDHHS health programs and serious Secretary Mandy Coservices to the Medichen agreed that such aid population,” how- questions checks were a “best ever, the current audit about practice” and would and a previous aulook for ways to imdit in 2019 have both NCDHHS’s prove procedures and found millions in im- ability to policies. proper payments and administer A key finding was lingering oversight isthe program.” NCDHHS’ failure in sues. identifying and reThe audit, pubmoving providers lished by the office of State Sen. with terminated, susN.C. State Auditor pended or limited Beth Wood on Feb. 8, Joyce Krawiec professional licenses. sampled only a small (R-Forsyth) The audit looked fraction of the 90,000 at 66 Medicaid proMedicaid providers viders disciplined by in the state and says the department “did not per- their licensing board, of which form background checks, verify “26 had a suspended or termicredentials, and complete oth- nated license during SFY 2019.” er steps necessary to determine Those 26 were tested to see if whether the undisclosed own- NCDHHS had removed them ers were eligible to be enrolled from the program. Investigators found that “18 providers (69%) in Medicaid.” As noted by the audit, NC- with suspended or terminated DHHS employed a contractor licenses were not removed from for reverification processes. The the Medicaid program at all” contractor, General Dynamics and NCDHHS only removed 14 Information Technology, failed after auditors brought it to the to validate and verify provider department’s attention. The section on licensing islicense credentials and ownership details. Of the 191 approved applications the audit sampled, See MEDICAID, page A2
RALEIGH — Senate Bill 37, which seeks to return K-12 students to the classroom, passed both chambers of the General Assembly last week and was sent to Gov. Roy Cooper, who implied he may veto it.
The prior votes on the bill had revealed a partisan divide; however, the final votes were more bipartisan after a conference committee made some adjustments. The Senate passed the bill 31-16. Senate Republicans voted unanimously to pass the bill, joined by three Democrats, Sens. Clark and deViere, both representing Cumberland County, and Sen. Lowe (Forsyth). The remaining 16 Democrats in See SCHOOLS, page A2
As schools reopen, will NC’s homeschool boom continue? By David Larson North State Journal RALEIGH — There is no doubt that school shutdowns resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic have caused a spike in interest in homeschooling, and North Carolina has seen explosive growth in its own homeschooled population in that time. But many are wondering how many of the families that have chosen homeschooling during the 2020-21 school year will continue down that path once schools have reopened. Spencer Mason, law and policy director for North Carolinians for Home Education, told North State Journal that as of July 2020, there were 97,000 homeschools in the state, and by the end of the year, there were up to 20,000 more. In the country at large, the National Home Education Research Institute says that there are 4-5 million homeschooled students (around 8% of all school-aged children), and in spring 2019, there were only 2.5 million. “At the beginning of the school year we had a good amount of folks calling, but it hasn’t really let up at all,” Mason said. “Now it’s people who are frustrated with the way that public schools have been going.” Mason said he was unable to put a number on what percentage may go back to their pre-pandemic schools, but he has seen signs that many new homeschoolers are planning on staying. “I think we’ve had a lot that initially thought they were going to do it for a year or, in some cases, just to finish out 2020-21 school year,” he said, “but now we’re getting a lot of folks that are saying, ‘This is a lot better than we thought it would be. Our kids are really doing well. They’re enjoying it. They like learning.’ And a lot of them are talking about how their kids never liked
school and are enjoying learning at home. So that’s another little thing we’ve been noticing, is we’ve had a lot of folks who were planning on just doing it for a year or for a period of time and are now changing their tune.” Robert Bortins, CEO of the Southern Pines-based company See HOMESCHOOL, page A2