RALEIGH — After years of work, the North Carolina Medical Society was on hand today as Governor Roy Cooper signed HB 76: Access to Healthcare Options into law.
NCMS has longed worked with our members, legislators, and many partner organizations to get HB 76 passed. Today’s signing means that hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians will live healthier and happier lives. The $1.8 billion in federal dollars to the state will also create a Healthcare Access and Stabilization Program (HASP) to reimburse hospitals who have experienced financial losses, expand postpartum coverage for mothers, and create a statewide workforce development program.
Here is a look at the final details of HB76:
- Expands Medicaid to over 600,000 North Carolinians and would dole out $1.8 billion in federal dollars to the state.
- Creates a Healthcare Access and Stabilization Program (HASP), which would reimburse hospitals who have experienced financial losses.
- Expands postpartum coverage.
- Creates a statewide workforce development program.
- Creates a program that would help residents on Medicaid transfer to marketplace place healthcare when available.
- Adds Certificate of Need (CON) Reform which would remove requirements for chemical dependency beds and psychiatric beds, raises dollar threshold for replacement equipment, raises the dollar threshold for diagnostic centers.
- Also adds CON Reform for counties with over 125,000 residents for Ambulatory Surgery Centers (will take effect 2 years after the first HASP payment) and MRI machines (will take effect 3 years after the first HASP payment).
- The changes will be implemented only if the 2023-2024 budget is passed into law by the end of 2023.
For more information and a message from NCMS CEO Chip Baggett, click here.
Some images from today’s ceremony:
