N.C. Medicaid Funding May be Reduced as Lawmakers Look to End Budget Standoff

Hoping to end a more than month-long budget impasse, North Carolina lawmakers may target the state's Medicaid program for funding reductions as they look to reduce state spending by $100 million, the Winston-Salem Journal reports. The state entered the fiscal year, which began July 1, with a $167 million shortfall, its "worst budget crisis in 10 years." As a result, lawmakers have proposed several spending reductions and tax increases, including a $39.5 million cut for the state's health and human services department and a tax hike on HMOs to meet a proposed budget of $3.35 billion. To meet the necessary budget cuts, state Senate leader Marc Basnight (D) "suggested" that Medicaid reimbursements to doctors might be reduced (Damico, Winston-Salem Journal, 8/8).