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).