summary
Introduced
03/05/2025
03/05/2025
In Committee
03/06/2025
03/06/2025
Crossed Over
Passed
Dead
Introduced Session
2025-2026 Session
Bill Summary
AN ACT TO INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF MEDICAID INNOVATIONS WAIVER SLOTS AVAILABLE FOR THE 2025-2027 FISCAL BIENNIUM. Whereas, the Innovations Waiver provides critical services to about 15,000 North Carolinians with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities, allowing them to receive support for living in their home communities and enabling their families to remain in the workforce; and Whereas, there are currently approximately 19,000 people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities on the waiting list for Innovations Waiver services; and Whereas, the Innovations Waiver waiting list has doubled in the last 10 years; and Whereas, the addition of 2,000 Innovations Waiver slots over the past 10 years has failed to keep up with the pace of growth on the waiting list; and Whereas, many people on the waiting list have waited more than a decade for critical services; and Whereas, there are people on the waiting list in every county in North Carolina; and Whereas, every State dollar spent on an Innovations Waiver slot draws down approximately two dollars in federal matching funds; and Whereas, according to analysis by researchers at the UNC-Greensboro Department of Economics, each new Innovations Waiver slot represents about 1.3 new jobs created in the local community where the beneficiary lives; and Whereas, according to analysis by the same researchers, every State dollar paid to direct care workers, combined with the federal match, results in five dollars of local economic activity; and Whereas, providing needed services to people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities creates jobs and stimulates economic activity in every community in North Carolina; and Whereas, addressing the service needs of individuals on the waiting list has the additional benefit of enabling family or other caregivers to resume participation in the workforce; Now, therefore,
AI Summary
This bill aims to significantly expand the North Carolina Innovations Waiver program, which provides critical services to individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (I/DD), by adding 10,000 new waiver slots over two fiscal years (5,000 slots in 2025-2026 and another 5,000 slots in 2026-2027). The bill appropriates substantial funding, including $134 million in state funds for 2025-2026 and $357.34 million for 2026-2027, which will be matched by federal funds totaling approximately $244.75 million and $652.66 million respectively. The waiver slots will be distributed using the existing allocation formula, with priority given to individuals who have been longest on the waiting list, which currently includes about 19,000 people. To receive the additional slots, Local Management Entities/Managed Care Organizations (LME/MCOs) must ensure providers pay direct care employees a minimum wage of $20 per hour and demonstrate the capacity to provide services. The bill is designed not only to support individuals with I/DD and their families but also to stimulate local economic activity, with researchers estimating that each new waiver slot creates approximately 1.3 jobs in the local community. The bill will become effective on July 1, 2025, with the first set of additional slots available on October 1, 2025, subject to potential Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approval.
Committee Categories
Budget and Finance
Sponsors (6)
Lisa Grafstein (D)*,
Tim Moffitt (R)*,
Gale Adcock (D),
Val Applewhite (D),
Sophia Chitlik (D),
Julie Mayfield (D),
Last Action
Re-ref Com On Appropriations/Base Budget (on 03/06/2025)
Official Document
bill text
bill summary
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bill summary
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bill summary
| Document Type | Source Location |
|---|---|
| State Bill Page | https://www.ncleg.gov/BillLookUp/2025/S246 |
| BillText | https://www.ncleg.gov/Sessions/2025/Bills/Senate/PDF/S246v1.pdf |
| BillText | https://www.ncleg.gov/Sessions/2025/Bills/Senate/PDF/S246v0.pdf |
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