July 5, 2016 
by Tony Adams, Adams and Associates Government Relations

Compromise State Budget Approved

The NC Senate and House finalized and approved a compromise state budget (House Bill 1030) for the 2016–17 fiscal year a few hours before midnight on June 30, just before the July 1 deadline for the new fiscal year. Total funding allocated in the budget is $22.34 billion. The two bodies then adjourned for the year minutes before midnight, and will convene for the 2017 long session of the General Assembly in January.

One key item of interest to NCALA in the approved compromise budget is the fact that it provides nearly $4 million in state funding for temporary assistance to adult care homes and facilities that serve Special Assistance recipients, bringing total available funding, including local dollars, to $7.5 million. This equates to a $34 supplemental temporary payment per recipient, but it is NOT an official increase in the Special Assistance rate. (The $34 temporary assistance payments will begin October 1, 2016, and end no later than June 30, 2017.) By no later than April 1, 2017, DSS shall submit to the General Assembly a detailed plan for a long-term solution on how to ensure adequate reimbursement to facilities for serving recipients of State/County Special Assistance without increasing the Medicaid eligibility income limit for State/County Special Assistance recipients (and thereby expanding Medicaid).

Two additional, special provisions in the budget that are of interest are:

• A provision to extend the moratorium on home care agency licenses for in-home aide services to June 30, 2017; and
• A provision to change adult care home cost reporting from annually to at least every two years.

Other Issues and Legislation

Other issues and legislation of interest to NCALA member providers include the following:

Passage into law of House Bill 667, an act to amend penalties and remedies for facilities licensed to care for the mentally ill, developmentally disabled, substance abusers, and for adult care homes. It also removes the sunset for the pilot program to study the use of electronic supervision devices in certain facilities. House Bill 667 enacts major changes to the state’s adult care home (and mental health) survey deficiency and penalty laws. Read a summary of what this means for you, written by Ken Burgess of Poyner Spruill. HB 667 was passed without opposition in both the House and the Senate and was signed by the Governor. HB 667 can be read here.

Proposed Repeal of Certificate of Need (CON): NC Senate leaders again pushed in the final days of the legislative session to eliminate the Certificate of Need program that regulates the placement of new healthcare facilities. After numerous attempts to have the issue voted on, the effort failed, but there is no doubt that the issue will be brought up again in the 2017 long session of the General Assembly.

Adult Guardianship Bill: House Bill 817 (Enact Uniform Act on Adult Guardianship) was passed and signed by the Governor, with added clarifying technical changes. The legislation allows state courts to recognize adult guardianship orders from other states and creates a clear process for determining which state has jurisdiction to appoint a guardian if a conflict exists. It outlines procedures for transferring a guardianship to another state and for accepting a transfer.

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