Daily News

By SUE BOOK 
SUN JOURNAL STAFF

Plan would provide about $30M to cap costs at 2005-06 levels

RALEIGH — A new plan to provide $65 million to North Carolina counties dealing with rising Medicaid costs was proposed by the state’s counties this week.

“It would at least be a start, and you have to start somewhere,” said George Brown, a Craven County Commissioner who met with a state house Medicaid Subcommittee here Tuesday. He was one member of the N.C. Association of County Commissioners executive committee making the proposal.

The plan would provide about $30 million to cap county costs at 2005-06 levels and $35 million to help relieve counties’ Medicaid burden. The General Assembly’s House Select Committee on Health Care’s subcommittee approved the plan.

“We are looking for permanent relief, but this will give us time to explore other avenues,” said Brown.

Brown said the Medicaid population of counties would determine how the $35 million will be distributed, with poorer counties getting a higher percentage rate.

The percentage rate will vary from 2 to 18 percent, he said, noting that in the short term, the plan will be better for counties than one being considered as a permanent solution in which counties sacrifice a penny sales tax in exchange for the state assuming the entire state share of Medicaid costs.

North Carolina is the only state in the country that continues to require that counties pay a fixed percentage of a state’s Medicaid share.

Counties complain that the burden is forcing them to raise property taxes or cut services. In 2005-06, 45 counties increased property taxes, including 19 counties that raised property taxes by at least 10 percent. (more…)

 Email This Post  Print This Post

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 30th, 2006 at 5:30 am and is filed under Daily News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.