Legislation introduced to permanently cap county Medicaid costs

Almost every member of the House of Representatives has signed on to H1424, which would permanently cap county Medicaid costs at 2005-06 levels and provide additional, targeted relief each year to counties with the highest percentage of Medicaid eligible citizens.

More on Medicaid relief

The bill was introduced Wednesday, April 11, and was sponsored by Reps. Bill Owens (Pasquotank), Mickey Michaux (Durham), Paul Stam (Wake) and Doug Yongue (Scotland). The bill calls for $100 million for 2007-08 and $154 million for 2008-09 to cap county Medicaid costs at 2005-06 levels.

“This is the most significant piece of Medicaid relief legislation ever introduced due to the amount of relief involved and the overwhelming and bipartisan support of the legislators who have signed onto this proposal,” said NCACC Executive Director David F. Thompson. “By making the temporary cap that was enacted this year permanent, it provides substantial relief from the escalating Medicaid costs for all 100 counties. The proposal also provides some much-needed additional assistance for counties where the Medicaid burden is particularly crippling.”

NCACC President Terry Garrison of Vance County fields a question at the news conference with Reps. Doug Yongue, Bill Owens, Bill McGee (obscured), Wil Neumann and Larry Hall. (Photos by Jason King)

Rep. Owens is a former Pasquotank County commissioner and NCACC president and is chair of the House Rules Committee. Reps. Michaux and Yongue are co-chairs of the House Committee on Appropriations, and Rep. Stam is the House minority leader. Numerous other members of the House, including Rep. Wil Neumann (Gaston), worked to see that almost all members of the House signed on to the bill.

In 2005-06, North Carolina counties paid nearly $426 million to subsidize the state’s Medicaid share. State legislators did provide a one-time appropriation of up to $27.4 million in the 2006-07 budget to temporarily cap county Medicaid costs at 2005-06 levels, but a recent increase in Medicaid services costs means that counties may exceed the $27.4 million cap by at least $15 million.

President Terry Garrison shares a word with House Minority Whip Bill McGee of Forsyth County.

If the cap is not continued, state officials are already projecting county Medicaid costs to surpass half a billion dollars in 2007-08. The latest projections from the Division of Medical Assistance show the county share is projected to jump to $517 million for 2007-08 – an increase of 21 percent over 2005-06 expenditures.

“County budgets cannot keep pace with the rapidly escalating Medicaid costs,” said NCACC President Terry Garrison, a Vance County commissioner. “Instituting a permanent cap means that counties will no longer be faced with funding the dramatic increases in a program over which we have no control. This will enable us to use our local tax dollars to meet our school construction and other infrastructure needs.”

A recent survey by the Department of Public Instruction revealed nearly $10 billion of school capital needs over the next five years.