Latest, page 2
- Published Oct 9
- Published Oct 9
- Published Oct 8
Vaya Health, Partners Health Management Merge Into Vaya Partners
Vaya Health and Partners Health Management completed a merger to form Vaya Partners, now North Carolina's largest local management entity/managed care organization (LME/MCO), serving over 225,000 members across 47 counties. The combined entity operates the Vaya Partners Tailored Plan, integrating behavioral health, intellectual/developmental disability, traumatic brain injury, physical health, and pharmacy services for members. It also manages behavioral health, I/DD, and TBI services for NC Medicaid Direct beneficiaries and state-funded service users. Tracy Hayes, former Vaya Health CEO, leads the new organization, which aims to strengthen long-term stability and expand access to behavioral health services statewide.
Why it mattersThe merger consolidates behavioral health and IDD/TBI Medicaid managed care authority under a single LME/MCO, reshaping provider network contracting and care coordination across nearly half of North Carolina's counties.
- Published Oct 7
- Published Oct 7
- Published Oct 6
Heartland Institute Ranks North Carolina 48th on Medicaid Management
The Heartland Institute, a free-market think tank, released a Sept. 27 report card ranking North Carolina 48th of 50 states for how it runs Medicaid, scoring 28 of 100 points. The state lost points for expanding Medicaid under the ACA, not implementing work requirements until now, restricting provider markets through certificate-of-need laws, and recording few fraud convictions relative to enrollees. North Carolina scored worst on program design (7 of 36 points) and also ranked poorly on fiscal sustainability, program integrity, and provider market measures. The report lands amid ongoing state budget fights over Medicaid funding and ahead of new federal work requirements taking effect Jan. 1, 2026 for the roughly 740,000 adults covered through expansion.
Why it mattersThe ranking adds political ammunition for state lawmakers debating Medicaid funding and work requirements just as North Carolina prepares to implement federal eligibility changes that could strip coverage from hundreds of thousands of expansion enrollees.
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