North Carolina Legislature Approves Medicaid Reform, Behavioral Health Carve-Out To End

On September 23, 2015, North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory signed Medicaid reform legislation that will end the state’s behavioral health carve out. The reform legislation calls for the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to contract with Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs) for full-risk contracts. Within four years of the capitated contracts beginning, the MCOs will become responsible for behavioral health services, which are currently provided by eight regional local management entities (LMEs)/MCOs that operate behavioral health prepaid inpatient health plans (PIHP) under 1915 (b) and (c) Medicaid waivers.

The legislation, House Bill 372 . . .