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Friday, November 6, 2026 · Updated 1:03 PM MT · 37 stories today
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Medicaid Monitor
Around the States / North Carolina · 37 stories todayPRO
Around the States · North Carolina

North Carolina

11 stories this week from 6 sources

Top North Carolina stories this week

NC Restarts Scaled-Back Healthy Opportunities Pilot in January

North Carolina's Healthy Opportunities Pilot, which used Medicaid funds to address housing, food, transportation and other non-medical needs, will restart in January after an 18-month suspension, state health officials told regional partners. The relaunched program will offer only one of its nearly 30 former services: grocery box deliveries, and will be far more restrictive, limiting eligibility to food-insecure Medicaid beneficiaries who are pregnant or have diabetes or cardiovascular disease.

Medicaid MonitorNov 4, 2026

Latest

  1. Published Nov 4

    DNC Chair Vows Push to Repeal Medicaid, SNAP Cuts

    Following Democratic election gains, DNC Chairman Ken Martin said the party's top legislative priority will be rolling back tariffs and reversing recent federal cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, which he says were enacted to finance tax breaks for wealthy Americans. Martin called for repeal of the legislation he referred to as the "Big Ugly Bill," which reduced federal funding for the two safety-net programs. Democrats also plan oversight investigations into the executive branch and have discussed, but not committed to, impeachment proceedings against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. No specific legislative text, timeline, or vote has been introduced yet.

    Why it mattersState Medicaid agencies and health plans should watch for potential federal legislative action that could restore or further alter Medicaid funding levels cut under recent budget law.

    Read at WECT (Wilmington)
    WECT (Wilmington)
  2. Published Nov 4

    Hospital CEOs cut wait times via operations amid Medicaid gaps

    Medicaid Monitor
  3. Published Nov 4

    Stein Calls for Bipartisan Cooperation After NC Election Shift

    North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein said voters sent a message for more bipartisan cooperation after Democrats flipped the state House and narrowed Republican margins in the Senate. Stein urged lawmakers to prioritize lowering housing, electricity and health care costs, finalizing a state budget, investing in education, and supporting Hurricane Helene recovery in Western North Carolina. He called on Congress to approve additional disaster aid before year's end and said he would work with Sen.-elect Roy Cooper if it does not. Stein also cited past bipartisan agreements, including on Medicaid, as a model for working with new legislative leadership.

    Why it mattersA shifted legislative balance in North Carolina could reopen debate on state budget priorities, including Medicaid funding and health care costs, affecting the state agency's program administration and provider reimbursement going forward.

    Read at WECT (Wilmington)
    WECT (Wilmington)
  4. Published Nov 3

    NC Democrats Flip House Majority, End Senate Veto-Proof Supermajority

    Medicaid Monitor
  5. Published Nov 3

    Democrats flip three NC legislative seats in Triangle area

    Medicaid Monitor
  6. Published Nov 3

    Cooper Wins North Carolina Senate Seat, Defeating Trump-Backed Whatley

    The Associated Press projects Roy Cooper, former North Carolina governor and Democrat, has defeated Republican Michael Whatley in the state's U.S. Senate race, flipping a seat held by retiring Senator Thom Tillis. Unofficial results show Cooper leading roughly 2.05 million votes to 1.33 million. Cooper campaigned on economic affordability and a centrist, bipartisan approach, while highlighting his record expanding Medicaid coverage as governor in contrast to Whatley and Republicans. The win gives Democrats a key pickup in their effort to retake Senate control, though they still need additional seats to reach a majority.

    Why it mattersCooper's election adds a Senate voice with a direct record on Medicaid expansion, a factor state agencies and advocates will watch as federal Medicaid financing and policy debates continue in Congress.

    Read at WECT (Wilmington)
    WECT (Wilmington)
  7. Published Nov 3

    Hospital-at-Home Program Gains Regulatory Certainty Through 2030

    Aging Untold profiles the federal hospital-at-home program, which lets hospitals treat acutely ill patients at home with daily nurse visits, virtual physician check-ins, and remote monitoring equipment instead of an inpatient bed. More than 30,000 patients have been treated this way, with over 350 participating hospitals, including OSF Healthcare's OnCall Digital Hospital in Illinois. Hospitals need a waiver from CMS to bill for the service, and that waiver, previously extended repeatedly on a short-term basis, has now been approved through September 2030. Industry voices cite a 2024 CMS study showing lower readmission rates and hospital-acquired infections for hospital-at-home patients, and argue the model frees inpatient capacity and could reduce Medicare spending as the population ages.

    Why it mattersHospitals and health systems now have multi-year regulatory certainty to scale hospital-at-home programs, while the Medicare billing waiver's extension shapes capacity planning and reimbursement strategy industry-wide.

    Read at WECT (Wilmington)
    WECT (Wilmington)
  8. Published Nov 2

    Novant Health Completes Acquisition of Rural NC Hospital

    Medicaid Monitor
  9. Published Oct 29

    Keep Your Care Campaign Launches in NC Ahead of Work Rules

    Medicaid Monitor
  10. Published Oct 29

    Carolina Federation Co-Director Argues NC Tax Amendments Harm Medicaid, Schools

    In a commentary piece, Jenn Frye, co-director of Carolina Federation, argues that three North Carolina constitutional amendments on the ballot, including a personal income tax rate cap, a measure letting the legislature limit local property tax revenue, and a Voter ID amendment, would primarily benefit wealthy individuals and corporations while straining state and local budgets. She cites research from the North Carolina Budget and Tax Center and NC Housing Coalition estimating the tax cap would block $17 billion in annual revenue, and quotes an ally linking resulting budget pressure to state leaders' past threats to cut Medicaid funding. Frye says over 20,000 voters have pledged to oppose the amendments, which are on the ballot during ongoing early voting. The piece frames the amendments as constraining state revenue needed for schools, childcare, and other public services.

    Why it mattersState lawmakers and advocates should note that constitutional limits on NC tax revenue could tighten the state budget pool that funds the state share of Medicaid financing alongside education and other services.

    Read at NC SPIN
    NC SPIN
  11. Published Oct 29

    NC Workforce Report Finds Easing but Persistent Health Staffing Shortages

    Medicaid Monitor
  12. Published Oct 27

    NC Supreme Court to Hear AdventHealth's CON Challenges to Mission Health

    Medicaid Monitor
  13. Published Oct 27

    Williams Mullen Previews North Carolina Budget, Medicaid Package as Legislature Returns

    Medicaid Monitor
  14. Published Oct 27

    Duke Study Ties Post-Discharge Meal Delivery to Fewer Readmissions

    Medicaid Monitor
  15. Published Oct 26

    Commentary: Gambling Winnings Could Satisfy Medicaid Work Rule

    In a John Locke Foundation commentary, Kevin Corinth argues that CMS's interim final rule implementing Medicaid work requirements contains a loophole allowing gross gambling winnings to count as income toward the requirement. He explains that because gross winnings are counted without netting out losses, a recipient could accumulate the $580 threshold through gambling activity across separate betting sessions, even while losing money overall. The work requirement takes effect January 1 in most states under the One Big Beautiful Bill reform. Corinth contends this creates a perverse incentive for Medicaid recipients to gamble rather than work to retain coverage.

    Why it mattersState Medicaid agencies implementing the new work requirement must account for CMS's income-counting rules when verifying compliance, since ambiguity over what counts as qualifying income could undermine the policy's labor-force goals.

    Read at John Locke Foundation
    John Locke Foundation
  16. Published Oct 23

    Carolina Federation Co-Director Argues NC Tax Amendments Harm Residents

    Medicaid Monitor
  17. Published Oct 23

    NC Hospital Systems Battle Over Billions in New Facility Projects

    Medicaid Monitor
  18. Published Oct 22

    Cooper Campaigns on Medicaid, ACA Subsidies in NC Senate Race

    Medicaid Monitor
  19. Published Oct 21

    NC Health News Publishes 2026 Congressional Candidate Health Care Guide

    Medicaid Monitor
  20. Published Oct 20

    Duke Endowment Grants $100M to NC Children's Health System

    Medicaid Monitor
  21. Published Oct 17

    Atrium Health to Build 168-Bed Behavioral Hospital in Charlotte

    Medicaid Monitor
  22. Published Oct 16

    Stein Warns NC Counties Will Bear New Medicaid Rule Costs

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  23. Published Oct 16

    North Carolina Funds Practice Supports to Expand Collaborative Care Model

    Medicaid Monitor
  24. Published Oct 16

    Nonprofit's Triangle Housing Pilots Aim to Scale Across NC

    Medicaid Monitor
  25. Published Oct 15

    Tillis Cites Medicaid Cuts in Criticizing Trump-Backed Megabill

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  26. Published Oct 15

    Atrium Health Commits $340M to Expand Behavioral Health Capacity

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  27. Published Oct 14

    Duke Health, CaroMont Partner to Build Two Charlotte-Area Hospitals

    Medicaid Monitor
  28. Published Oct 14

    John Locke Foundation Disputes Carolina Forward's Health Care Proposals

    In the third installment of a series critiquing Carolina Forward's policy agenda, the John Locke Foundation argues the left-leaning group's health care recommendations rely too heavily on expanded government spending and regulation. The commentary challenges Carolina Forward's framing of hospital mergers and rural access gaps, noting the report omits evidence linking merger acceleration to Affordable Care Act incentives. It also criticizes the report's celebration of North Carolina's 2023 Medicaid expansion without addressing cost growth, citing state Medicaid spending up 59 percent in four years and total spending up 93 percent, now consuming 22 percent of the state budget versus 16 percent a decade ago. The piece instead favors eliminating Certificate of Need laws, expanding nurse practitioner scope of practice, and opposing reimbursement parity for telehealth and hospital rate-setting commissions.

    Why it mattersState policymakers weighing further Medicaid investment or rural health regulation face a direct ideological challenge to expansion-funded and regulatory approaches from a influential state think tank.

    Read at John Locke Foundation
    John Locke Foundation
  29. Published Oct 13

    Malveaux Argues NC Should Permanently Fund Social Needs Pilots

    Medicaid Monitor
  30. Published Oct 12

    NC State Health Plan Sues Atrium Health Over Affordability Program

    Medicaid Monitor

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