Submitted by Lee Dobson, Area Director, NC Government Affairs (GAO)

On June 19, lawmakers released a $23 billion budget for 2017-2019. Below are some of the provisions impacting us:

• Increased Personal Care Services Rate: This provision increases the Medicaid rate for aide services under the Personal Care Services (PCS) program and the Community Alternatives Program for Children (CAP-C). The rate will increase from $13.88 to $15.50 (July 1, 2017) and $15.60 (January 1, 2018) pending approval from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Much to our disappointment, CAP-DA was left out of the budget. A technical issue made it difficult to increase the CAP-DA rate within the established budget neutrality requirement. A rate increase would have meant fewer authorized hours for clients to stay within overall program requirements. BAYADA’s Government Affairs Office continues to work on a solution.
• Protected the certificate of need (CON) for home health care from being eliminated.
• Expanded Innovations Waiver slots: This provision added 400 additional Innovations Waiver slots across the state.