RALEIGH — North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein issued a proclamation Thursday calling for the General Assembly to hold a special extra session specifically to deal with Medicaid rebase funding.
Stein’s proclamation notes the General Assembly does not plan to take any more votes this session and that he sought the advice of the 10-member Council of State, which currently has a 5-5 partisan split between Democrats and Republicans.
On his official X account, Stein shared video of a press conference featuring citizens from around the state who shared their Medicaid stories. He also issued a press release highlighting those testimonies.
“The stories shared today make crystal clear that Medicaid ensures access to life-saving care,” Stein said in the press release. “The General Assembly is using people’s health and well-being as bargaining chips in an unrelated budget dispute, and it’s shameful. The legislature must come back to Raleigh and do its job so that the three million North Carolinians who rely on Medicaid can get the care they need.”
House Speaker Destin Hall (R-Granite Falls) issued a lengthy statement refuting Stein’s call for a special extra session, noting Stein’s “own state health administration has confirmed that Medicaid is funded through April 2026, the NCDHHS cut rates on October 1, after the General Assembly appropriated $600 million for the rebase.”
“The House has done its job to fund Medicaid with clean bills and is prepared to do more if needed,” Hall said. “We need to resolve this matter quickly to protect patients, support providers, and ensure the long-term stability of North Carolina’s Medicaid program.
“Until recently, the General Assembly has worked with the executive branch to provide funding to Medicaid, while also monitoring the program’s integrity. The administration should have continued that practice.”
Senate Leader Phil Berger’s office also issued a statement.
“Gov. Stein’s self-inflicted ‘crisis’ is not an extraordinary occasion by any measure,” said Berger spokeswoman Lauren Horsch. “Now that the courts have stepped in to block some of his politically motivated cuts, he’s attempting a new stunt to pass the buck. The General Assembly appropriated $600 million to the Medicaid rebase, and instead of prioritizing funding for services, Gov. Stein decided funding bureaucracy was more important.”
Horsch’s reference to court intervention is likely a reference to a Wake County Superior Court judge issuing a temporary restraining order this week on the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) 10% Medicaid reimbursement rate cut to applied behavior analysis therapy for those with autism.
On Sept. 25, NCDHHS announced it would cut provider rates by at least 3% beginning Oct. 1, with some services facing up to 10% reductions.
Medicaid rebase funding adjusts monthly payments made to managed care organizations to account for enrollment changes, costs and federal match rates.
Stein’s proposed March budget called for $700 million to fund the rebase, but a later estimate from the NCDHHS and the Office of Budget and Management came in at $819 million. Stein informed lawmakers of the revised increase Aug. 11.
The General Assembly’s mini-budget (House Bill 125) approved $600 million for Medicaid rebase, but administrative requirements reduced the actual allocation to $500 million, creating s $319 million gap for fiscal year 2025-26.
Both chambers of the General Assembly passed bills to address Medicaid rebase funding in mid- to late September, but neither chamber passed the other’s legislation.
