NORTH CAROLINA, October 22 - Today Governor Josh Stein urged passage of House Bill 491, which would pull $190 million from the Medicaid Contingency Reserve to partially fund the Medicaid program and allow the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) to reverse and delay provider rate cuts that took effect on October 1, 2025. The Governor released the following statement:  

“People across North Carolina rely on Medicaid for their health care, and they need the legislature to step up. While the partial funding this House bill provides will not fix the Medicaid budget gap for the long term, it will allow us to delay the cuts as we work to ensure North Carolinians' continued access to health care. The House has now acted on two clean Medicaid funding bills, and the Senate has left town without even considering this bill. The legislature has had months to fix this problem, and I urge the Senate to come back to Raleigh and fix this mess once and for all for the people who rely on Medicaid for life-saving health care.”  

In this week’s NC Strong Update, Governor Stein continued to urge the General Assembly to put their disagreements aside and send him a clean bill that provides the additional $319 million needed to fully fund Medicaid. Last week, the Governor sent a letter to legislative leadership outlining three options to reverse Medicaid cuts, including appropriating from the Medicaid Contingency Reserve.  

Learn more about the NC Medicaid program and funding needs here.