The state Legislature on Wednesday preliminarily approved the necessary funds to cover the state’s Medicaid deficit through a bill that includes anti-immigrant provisions, including sharing information on immigrants who apply for health benefits with federal immigration authorities.
HB696 received near-unanimous bipartisan support in both chambers of the Legislature, but it won’t be sent to the governor’s desk until next Tuesday when final votes are scheduled.
The legislation will immediately provide the additional $319 million needed to fund the state’s Medicaid on which nearly 3 million low-income people rely, and which was just weeks away from running out of funds.
But the funding bill includes a series of oversight measures, some of them antiimmigrant, meant to “cut the program’s costs and prevent fraud and abuse”, according with the Republican leaders who control both chambers of the Legislature.
ANTI-IMMIGRANT PROVISIONS
One of the new control provisions would force the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) to share the information of Medicaid applicants who do not have or cannot prove their immigration status with the federal Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Another provision requires that the income of any household member who is excluded from Medicaid because of their immigration status must be taken into account when determining whether other family members with immigration status are financially eligible for Medicaid benefits.
HB696 also limits further emergency Medicaid coverage for undocumented immigrants who are already ineligible for the standard coverage.
The bill also cuts health coverage for immigrants with legal immigration status such as refugees, asylum seekers, humanitarian visa holders or permanent residents with Green Card, who previously could qualify for Medicaid in certain circumstances or after a five-year waiting period.
Many of those immigrants with legal status were going to lose coverage starting in October 2026, according to the federal budget law passed in July of last year.
MORE SUPERVISION MEASURES
HB696 also requires NCDHHS to conduct monthly (currently quarterly) reviews of Medicaid beneficiaries’ eligibility and to submit an annual report on cases of fraud or misuse of the program.
It also prohibits the use of self-attestations as the only evidence to establish eligibility for Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
In addition, it requires Medicaid expansion recipients to provide proof that they were working or looking for a job within the past three months to obtain or renew their coverage.
The proposal also includes $500,000 for the State Auditor’s Office to conduct a Medicaid audit.
