The Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Medicaid and NC Health Choice met on January 12, 2020.
View the metting agenda here. Watch the replay of the meeting here.
NC DHHS Secretary, Dr. Mandy Cohen, MD, provided the Committee an overview of the COVID-19 vaccine distribution process.
North Carolina Healthcare Association Vaccine Rollout
Leah Burns, Vice President of Government Relations for the NC Healthcare Association provided an update on the vaccine distribution process from the hospital’s perspective. She explained the steps to the process of vaccinate the 1A population and the 75+ population. She shared that flexbility, the CVMS operability, and rural popuations are current challenges. She suggested that working with primary care providers and retail pharamcies could help with vaccinating more individuals more rapidly.
Dave Richard and Jay Ludlam from the Department of Health and Human Services shared a brief update about the NC Medicaid Transformation.
Day 1 Goal for Transformation: Patients get the care they need, and providers get paid.
Identified Medicaid Transformation Challenges:
- COVID-19
- Provider Contracting
- Legislative Changes
- State Budget
Transparent Communication & Engagement with Partners:
- Beneficiaries
- Providers
- Counties
- Health Plans
Proactive Comunication
- DHHS remains committed to transparency and frequent updates to the legislature and the general public.
Contracting During COVID-19
- Contracting during the pandemic has made it challenging for providers & health systems to focus on contracting.
- Plans are currently focused on open enrollment and contracting with primary care physicians and health systems.
- NC Medicaid is convening workgroups between prepaid health plans and certain provider groups to understand and resolve issues that may be standing in the way of contracting.
Coronavirus Relief Fund Update
