Thread by @NCHealthNews

In presser now where #nchouse #ncga giving overview of their biennial budget. According to Rep. Lambeth, health provisions include:
- $177.5M recurring in each year to perm maintain enhanced COVID Medicaid rates in Skilled nursing facilities

- also increased salaries for personal care service workers
- $15M for increased communicable disease surveillance,
- funds to increase rates for subsidizing child care

- $25M for rural hospital stabilization fund
- $50M in loan forgiveness for health care workers to go into rural communities
- $2B for water and sewer, esp in rural communities as incentive for rural economic development.

Also, Lambeth says that #ncga #NCHouse will allocate a "significant" portion of the $1.74B signon bonus received from the feds for #Medicaid expansion into mental health reform.

Here's a copy of the money report: webservices.ncleg.gov/ViewNewsFile/6…

And the House budget bill, coming in at a cool 415 pages. webservices.ncleg.gov/ViewNewsFile/6…

HHS sections begin on p180.

- p 198 Innovations Waivers, add 250 slots (16,000 person wait list)
- Personal Care Services salaries up to $6.25 / 15 minute increment ($25/ hr)

Q: will pay raises be enough to be competitive given the high vacancy rates AND inflation?
A: says that money will be "significant" you'll see pots of money for that throughout the budget. #ncga
Problem is that NC is growing so fast, wage inflation bc of so many new jobs

Lambeth says that he'll have details to Mental health reform. Have held $1B in reserve to increase capacity in #mentalhealth system. "the kind of investment that we're talking about wil go a long way to dealing with our problems."

Will allocate about a billion out of a reserve that will be created from the federal incentive $$ received post #Medicaidexpansion
- increase rates for #mentalhealth providers
- open up state hospital beds
- goal to get people out of EDs
- $$ for transportation of MH patients

- $22.5 million to crisis pregnancy centers,
- increased rates for medical death examinations
- $2M for autopsy centers in S. Piedmont, covering Anson, Montgomery, Cabarrus, Richmond, Stanly, Union counties