Policymakers Should Build on Successes Caring for North Carolina’s Vulnerable Citizens – Not Step Back

North Carolina took a bold step in 2005 when it established a pilot program under a federal Medicaid waiver to provide public managed care to individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities (IDD) and those experiencing mental illness and substance use disorders (SUDs). The state’s vision for this pilot was to ensure that individuals with the most significant behavioral health needs have their care managed by local management entities/managed care organizations – commonly known as LME/MCOs within North Carolina – specifically designed for that purpose. By 2013 the state expanded its capitated Medicaid managed behavioral health program statewide.

North Carolina operates . . .