Press Releases

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today announced it has upgraded the mobile-friendly ePASS website to include a Spanish language option.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today announced the launch of NC Medicaid's managed care enrollment website, www.ncmedicaidplans.gov, in preparation for the launch of Medicaid Managed Care scheduled for July 1, 2021.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and the Cherokee Indian Hospital Authority (CIHA) have entered into a contract to support the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) in addressing the health needs of American Indian/Alaskan Native Medicaid beneficiaries.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) Division of Health Benefits (NC Medicaid) will temporarily increase payments rates to long-term care providers and facilities to support them in caring for Medicaid beneficiaries who are at high risk of serious illness from COVID

NC Medicaid today announced several policy changes around the use of telemedicine in response to COVID-19. These changes will enable Medicaid beneficiaries to continue to access the care they need. 

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has sought authority from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to temporarily waive certain Medicaid and NC Health Choice policies as part of North Carolina's response to the COVID-19. The waivers will provide flexibility to NC Medicaid and providers to address the urgent health care needs of beneficiaries during this public health emergency.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of North Carolina's Medicaid program, which provides health coverage for low-income adults, children, pregnant women, seniors and people with disabilities throughout the state. The NC Department of Health and Human Services will celebrate the milestone throughout the year with #NCMedicaidAt50 and by collecting stories on the impact of Medicaid in North Carolina.

On Monday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that the HealthCare.gov 2020 enrollment period reopened and North Carolinians now have until 3 a.m. on Dec. 18 to sign up for health insurance coverage.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today announced that because the NC General Assembly did not take needed action, managed care implementation and open enrollment for NC Medicaid must be suspended. The General Assembly adjourned last week without providing required new spending and program authority for the transition to managed care. Managed care will not go live on Feb. 1, 2020.

Open enrollment for Medicaid Managed Care begins statewide today. Most people who receive Medicaid can choose a health plan and primary care provider to deliver their Medicaid services as part of the state’s transformation to managed care. Today’s announcement expands open enrollment from the initial 27 counties that launched mid-July to all 100 counties and an additional 860,000 people. Open enrollment ends for everyone on Dec. 13, 2019, and coverage is scheduled to begin Feb. 1, 2020.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has expanded the regions awarded to Carolina Complete Health Inc. to serve as a prepaid health plan under the state's transition to Medicaid managed care. In addition to serving regions 3 and 5 in the state, the provider-led health plan will also serve region 4.

Open enrollment for Medicaid managed care begins today in 27 counties. From July 15 through Sept. 13, 2019, more than 300,000 households with nearly 540,000 people in Medicaid can choose a health plan to provide their Medicaid services, along with a primary care provider.

“The cost of doing nothing is not nothing,” John Owen, mental health consumer, told Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy Cohen, M.D, at a roundtable to discuss the impact of untreated behavioral health on communities and the challenges of accessing care for those who need it.

Today, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services announced the selection of Prepaid Health Plans that will participate in Medicaid managed care when the program launches in November 2019. Contracts were awarded after careful evaluation of all responses to the Request for Proposal issued by DHHS on Aug. 9, 2018.
North Carolina today received federal approval to implement the transition to Medicaid managed care and integrate physical health, behavioral health and pharmacy benefits. Receiving approval from the Centers for Medicare; Medicaid Services (CMS) of the amended 1115 Demonstration Waiver application submitted by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services in 2017 is a major milestone in implementing North Carolina's Medicaid Transformation and in moving the state's health care system toward further integration and coordination.

Today, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services announced additional flexibilities to expand its efforts to ensure Medicaid and NC Health Choice services can be quickly delivered to those impacted by Hurricane Florence. These new flexibilities will help people in Medicaid receive care without disruption and give health care providers leeway to deliver services with fewer limits.

Today, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services announced broad efforts to work with federal and county partners to provide additional flexibility to people enrolled in the Medicaid program and their health care providers during and after Hurricane Florence.

Today the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services issued a Request For Proposal (RFP) for organizations wishing to participate in Medicaid managed care as Prepaid Health Plans (PHPs) when the program launches in 2019.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today announced that it has awarded its contract for Medicaid managed care enrollment broker services to MAXIMUS, a government services provider based in Reston, Va. This is the first procurement contract award as the state prepares to move toward Medicaid managed care in North Carolina, a major milestone in the Medicaid transformation process.
The Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services released its first-ever Medicaid Scorecard intended to advance a longer-term goal to improve understanding of Medicaid performance nationally. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services supports this effort and looks forward to working with CMS to improve the accuracy and comparability of the measures.