In a compelling push towards addressing North Carolina’s Medicaid funding challenges, Governor Josh Stein has called for the swift passage of House Bill 491. This legislation proposes reallocating $190 million from the Medicaid Contingency Reserve to help finance the Medicaid program. By doing so, it aims to reverse and postpone provider rate cuts that were initiated on October 1, 2025. Governor Stein emphasized the urgency of this matter in a recent statement.
Governor Stein stated, “People across North Carolina rely on Medicaid for their health care, and they need the legislature to step up. While the partial funding this House bill provides will not fix the Medicaid budget gap for the long term, it will allow us to delay the cuts as we work to ensure North Carolinians’ continued access to health care. The House has now acted on two clean Medicaid funding bills, and the Senate has left town without even considering this bill. The legislature has had months to fix this problem, and I urge the Senate to come back to Raleigh and fix this mess once and for all for the people who rely on Medicaid for life-saving health care.”
As part of this week’s NC Strong Update, Governor Stein reiterated his plea to the General Assembly to reconcile their differences and pass a straightforward bill that would secure an additional $319 million for Medicaid. This comes after Governor Stein’s recent correspondence with legislative leaders, where he proposed three potential solutions to counter the Medicaid cuts, including tapping into the Medicaid Contingency Reserve.
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