North Carolina’s Medicaid expansion is facing a period of uncertainty as lawmakers prepare for the possibility that the federal government could reduce its financial commitment to the program. In response, state legislators are advancing a bill that would commit North Carolina to implementing work requirements for Medicaid recipients if federal policy allows it, a move lawmakers hope will help protect the state’s funding.
The proposal is being run through both chambers in a companion bill, which passed the House Committee on Health last week and was approved in the Senate Health Care Committee on Thursday.
“Work requirements for Medicaid have always been intended to be a part of our plan,” said bill sponsor state Sen. Ralph Hise, R-Mitchell. “Obviously, there’s been a change in Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and we believe there’s plenty of indication that their opinion on work requirements are different than they have historically been. So this actually implements that and tells the department to apply for the work requirements to negotiate with CMS and to implement whatever is approved by the feds.”…