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If the timing is ever going to be right to relieve North Carolina counties of the Medicaid burden, it would be this year.The state has a surplus of more than $2 billion and expects savings because the new Medicare prescription drug plan will reduce some Medicaid costs.You’d think that the Legislature could use one or both sources to reduce the counties’ share of Medicaid expenses.Other states have seen the light. North Carolina is the only state that still requires counties to pay part of Medicaid."With the surplus in Raleigh this seems like the best chance to get something done," Board of Commissioners Chairman Bill Moyer said last week. Moyer and county commissioners from the state visited Raleigh to lobby for the relief.And legislators from both chambers seemed sympathetic. They weren’t, judging from the budget the Senate passed Tuesday. It includes nothing for Medicaid relief.Sen. Tom Apodaca, R-Laurel Park, had introduced a bill that would phase out the counties’ share in three years and would appropriate $126.5 million of the surplus to help pay for the reduction in 2006-07. Now that the Senate passed the budget without the money in it, the bill is dead, Apodaca said."One of the best things we could do with the surplus is give some of it to the counties." Apodaca said. "It would have allowed them to build schools, improve services or even cut property taxes. But they didn’t do that."The Senate didn’t even use $65 million in Medicaid savings to help the counties out. (more…)

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