Governor Pat McCrory’s administration has presented a new plan to the public to overhaul the state’s Medicaid system.
This plan would coordinate services through what are called accountable care organizations, rather than big managed care companies. State health officials had previously leaned toward a managed care model.
Secretary of Health and Human Services Aldona Wos says the accountable care model is what hospitals and health providers want.
“We’re very fortunate in North Carolina to have already on the ground a network of primary care doctors who have a passion for taking care of Medicaid patients. And we have a long history of that. So we would like to incorporate those providers into this system.”
The head of the North Carolina Medical Society released a statement saying the proposal has great potential. The plan would allow health care providers to keep savings they would generate while meeting goals, but they would share losses if costs were to get too high. An advisory group is evaluating the plan. State legislators are expected to consider a proposal in May.