Putting Specialty Provider Organizations In First Position Takes Planning & Leadership

The old James Taylor song, “Carolina in My Mind,” says a lot about Medicaid policy. On July 1, 2021, North Carolina (NC) became the 41st state to switch to Medicaid managed care. In the same reform initiative, the state will move its current behavioral health and intellectual and developmental disability (I/DD) services carve-out plan to a comprehensive managed care plan in July 2022.

A majority of NC’s Medicaid consumers—including consumers with mild and moderate mental illnesses and substance use disorders—moved from NC Medicaid Direct (the former Medicaid program) to “standard plans.” These consumers are now . . .