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Medicaid Momentum: Pitt County Commissioners Push for Medicaid Expansion as List of Supporters Grows
Press Release:
Dozens of health care and business leaders support expansion and urge the legislature to close coverage gap. Supporters include:
Ashe Memorial Hospital, Chatham Hospital, Duke Regional Hospital, Erlanger Western North Carolina, Henderson County Hospital Corporation, J. Arthur Dosher Memorial Hospital, Johnston Health Services Corporation, Nash UNC Health Care, North Carolina Healthcare Association, Novant Health Brunswick Medical Center, Novant Health Charlotte Orthopedic Hospital, Novant Health Huntersville Medical Center, Novant Health Kernersville Medical Center, Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center, Novant Health Rowan Medical Center, Novant Health Southern Piedmont Region, Onslow Memorial Hospital, Outer Banks Hospital, Randolph Health, UNC Caldwell, University of North Carolina Health Care System, WakeMed
Greenville Daily Reflector:
Commissioners adopt resolution supporting Medicaid expansion
By: Karen Eckert
May 7, 2019
The Pitt County Board of County Commissioners on Monday voted 7-2 to adopt a resolution urging the General Assembly to approve Medicaid expansion.
The resolution states that Medicaid expansion would extend insurance to approximately 6,600 Pitt County residents. The resolution also states the federal government will cover 90 percent of the cost.
Medicaid expansion was offered under the Affordable Care Act, also called ObamaCare, to aid families who did not qualify for private health insurance subsidies but who earn too much money to receive traditional Medicaid coverage. Currently 37 states and the District of Columbia have approved Medicaid expansion. North Carolina is one of 14 that has not.
[...]
Mary Perkins-Williams of District 2, who voted in favor of the resolution, said that the Medicaid funding the state has refused to accept in the past was given to other counties in other states that were glad to receive it. If North Carolina rejects the money, it does not mean it won't be given to someone else, she said.
Commissioners voted unanimously to approve a budget amendment about the Employee Medical Insurance Fund. Pitt County's employee health insurance plan is self-funded by the county and employees and administered by a third party.
Staff has reported that, based on medical claims paid as of March and other data, the county's health insurance expenditures are expected to exceed revenues by $1.4 million.
Staff recommended that $697,089 be appropriated from the employee medical insurance fund and $702,911 be appropriated from the general fund to balance the books and avoid a statutory violation.
[...]
Read the full story HERE.
State Port Pilot:
Dosher, other hospitals ask legislators for Medicaid expansion
By: Terry Pope
May 9, 2019
Seven rural hospital executives from across the state met with Gov. Roy Cooper April 24 for a round-table discussion on expanding Medicaid coverage to more uninsured residents.
Among them was Dosher Memorial Hospital CEO Tom Siemers, who carried with him a resolution from the Dosher Board of Trustees. It calls for Republican legislators to expand Medicaid to help Dosher and other rural hospitals improve their financial stability and the overall health of uninsured patients.
"It's the first time I know of a governor actually reaching out directly to hospital executives to talk about real-world issues that are affecting patients and hospitals in rural North Carolina," Siemers said. "Medicaid is by no means a good payer, but what it can do is provide care before they end up in the emergency room."
Siemers said Gov. Cooper's office reached out to Dosher about a month ago with plans to visit the Southport facility to pitch his plan on Medicaid expansion. That trip never materialized, but Siemers did get a hasty invitation to the governor's round-table designed to put pressure on lawmakers, during their Easter break, to support Medicaid proposals.
"I think it's the right thing for the patients," said Siemers. "I believe it's the right thing for the hospital. I believe it's the right thing for our community."
[...]
Dosher estimates each year the hospital provides 2,534 emergency room visits to uninsured patients, approximately $8.7-million in uncompensated care and over $750,000 in charity care. Expanding Medicaid coverage would extend insurance coverage to approximately 500,000 people across the state, including many county residents, the resolution states.
Closing the coverage gap would create 43,000 new jobs in the state and generate billions of dollars in the state's business activity, the resolution claims. Federal funding would cover 90-percent of the costs for states to expand Medicaid to citizens, but it isn't something the Republican-led legislature is likely to support.
"I and the other administrators really appreciated the chance to articulate what it means," said Siemers. "I asked the governor what he thought was the chance for expansion. He's absolutely making the effort to see it gets done. He's acutely aware for rural communities what Medicaid expansion would mean."
[...]
Gov. Cooper is hoping a modified expansion plan proposed earlier this year can get to the House floor for a vote. It has been reported the compromise proposal was even co-signed by 22 House Republicans. That legislation, House Bill 655, includes some work requirements, premiums and co-pays that some Democrats have also opposed, but Gov. Cooper has indicated a willingness to accept some versions of the requirements.
"The mood in that room is this is a program that's good for people, the hospital and community and would improve the overall health of all three of them," said Siemers. "It's good to talk about it."
Of the state's 126 hospitals, a majority are located in rural areas and not in metropolitan settings. The income gaps that exist have led to the Medicaid crisis, said Ilene Evans, interim Marketing Director for Dosher Hospital.
"They might not qualify for Medicaid, but they make too much money for Obamacare," said Evans. "It's for people in that gap which Medicaid expansion would cover. We're providing them care in our emergency department. We would hope that with Medicaid expansion these members of the community would have primary care coverage through their Medicaid coverage."
She knows someone who lacked proper health coverage and access to blood pressure medicine because they were in the gap. That person suffered a stroke and now faces a difficult and costly road to recovery.
"It's a devastating medical condition and treatment that could possibly have been prevented," said Siemers.
With or without expansion, the state and its hospitals are preparing for some major changes dealing with Medicaid payment reform. It will impact Dosher starting in February 2020.
Nine months out, Dosher administrators are busy at work to prepare. It will require Medicaid patients to enroll with one of five corporate health care companies that will begin managing Medicaid rather than the state. Siemers said it will shift the risk to health care providers.
Dosher must have contracts with each of the five insurers that will manage Medicaid, bill the five companies for individual patients and then await reimbursement from the five companies rather than one state agency.
"We expect it to be complex," said Siemers. "The push by the governor is for Medicaid expansion."
Read the full story HERE.
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Greenville Daily Reflector:
By: Karen Eckert
May 7, 2019
The Pitt County Board of County Commissioners on Monday voted 7-2 to adopt a resolution urging the General Assembly to approve Medicaid expansion.
The resolution states that Medicaid expansion would extend insurance to approximately 6,600 Pitt County residents. The resolution also states the federal government will cover 90 percent of the cost.
Medicaid expansion was offered under the Affordable Care Act, also called ObamaCare, to aid families who did not qualify for private health insurance subsidies but who earn too much money to receive traditional Medicaid coverage. Currently 37 states and the District of Columbia have approved Medicaid expansion. North Carolina is one of 14 that has not.
[...]
Mary Perkins-Williams of District 2, who voted in favor of the resolution, said that the Medicaid funding the state has refused to accept in the past was given to other counties in other states that were glad to receive it. If North Carolina rejects the money, it does not mean it won't be given to someone else, she said.
Commissioners voted unanimously to approve a budget amendment about the Employee Medical Insurance Fund. Pitt County's employee health insurance plan is self-funded by the county and employees and administered by a third party.
Staff has reported that, based on medical claims paid as of March and other data, the county's health insurance expenditures are expected to exceed revenues by $1.4 million.
Staff recommended that $697,089 be appropriated from the employee medical insurance fund and $702,911 be appropriated from the general fund to balance the books and avoid a statutory violation.
[...]
Read the full story HERE.
State Port Pilot:
By: Terry Pope
May 9, 2019
Seven rural hospital executives from across the state met with Gov. Roy Cooper April 24 for a round-table discussion on expanding Medicaid coverage to more uninsured residents.
Among them was Dosher Memorial Hospital CEO Tom Siemers, who carried with him a resolution from the Dosher Board of Trustees. It calls for Republican legislators to expand Medicaid to help Dosher and other rural hospitals improve their financial stability and the overall health of uninsured patients.
"It's the first time I know of a governor actually reaching out directly to hospital executives to talk about real-world issues that are affecting patients and hospitals in rural North Carolina," Siemers said. "Medicaid is by no means a good payer, but what it can do is provide care before they end up in the emergency room."
Siemers said Gov. Cooper's office reached out to Dosher about a month ago with plans to visit the Southport facility to pitch his plan on Medicaid expansion. That trip never materialized, but Siemers did get a hasty invitation to the governor's round-table designed to put pressure on lawmakers, during their Easter break, to support Medicaid proposals.
"I think it's the right thing for the patients," said Siemers. "I believe it's the right thing for the hospital. I believe it's the right thing for our community."
[...]
Dosher estimates each year the hospital provides 2,534 emergency room visits to uninsured patients, approximately $8.7-million in uncompensated care and over $750,000 in charity care. Expanding Medicaid coverage would extend insurance coverage to approximately 500,000 people across the state, including many county residents, the resolution states.
Closing the coverage gap would create 43,000 new jobs in the state and generate billions of dollars in the state's business activity, the resolution claims. Federal funding would cover 90-percent of the costs for states to expand Medicaid to citizens, but it isn't something the Republican-led legislature is likely to support.
"I and the other administrators really appreciated the chance to articulate what it means," said Siemers. "I asked the governor what he thought was the chance for expansion. He's absolutely making the effort to see it gets done. He's acutely aware for rural communities what Medicaid expansion would mean."
[...]
Gov. Cooper is hoping a modified expansion plan proposed earlier this year can get to the House floor for a vote. It has been reported the compromise proposal was even co-signed by 22 House Republicans. That legislation, House Bill 655, includes some work requirements, premiums and co-pays that some Democrats have also opposed, but Gov. Cooper has indicated a willingness to accept some versions of the requirements.
"The mood in that room is this is a program that's good for people, the hospital and community and would improve the overall health of all three of them," said Siemers. "It's good to talk about it."
Of the state's 126 hospitals, a majority are located in rural areas and not in metropolitan settings. The income gaps that exist have led to the Medicaid crisis, said Ilene Evans, interim Marketing Director for Dosher Hospital.
"They might not qualify for Medicaid, but they make too much money for Obamacare," said Evans. "It's for people in that gap which Medicaid expansion would cover. We're providing them care in our emergency department. We would hope that with Medicaid expansion these members of the community would have primary care coverage through their Medicaid coverage."
She knows someone who lacked proper health coverage and access to blood pressure medicine because they were in the gap. That person suffered a stroke and now faces a difficult and costly road to recovery.
"It's a devastating medical condition and treatment that could possibly have been prevented," said Siemers.
With or without expansion, the state and its hospitals are preparing for some major changes dealing with Medicaid payment reform. It will impact Dosher starting in February 2020.
Nine months out, Dosher administrators are busy at work to prepare. It will require Medicaid patients to enroll with one of five corporate health care companies that will begin managing Medicaid rather than the state. Siemers said it will shift the risk to health care providers.
Dosher must have contracts with each of the five insurers that will manage Medicaid, bill the five companies for individual patients and then await reimbursement from the five companies rather than one state agency.
"We expect it to be complex," said Siemers. "The push by the governor is for Medicaid expansion."
Read the full story HERE.
- Contact: Ford Porter
- govpress@nc.gov
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