State L&L Updates

The NC General Assembly has hit their halftime – the point each session where bills must have passed at least one side (House or Senate) in order for the legislation to be considered as a new law this session. (Now, the truth is that the requirement can be easily avoided by putting the language of a

With the start of this year's long session, a number of items are already moving forward in the legislature. We are very fortunate to have two members of NABIP-NC as co-chairs of the Senate Health Committee -- Senators Jim Burgin (R-Harnett) and Kevin Corbin (R-Macon) which really helps us so much s

Since the elections wrapped up last week (and thanks to the way that NC law works that we have pretty quick counting), we now know more about the outlook for the 2023 General Assembly. Overall, it was a very good night for the Republicans where majorities increased to either supermajority levels (

With the legislature home and unlikely to take up significant issues until immediately at the election, I wanted to use this month's update to make sure that our members are intimately familiar with the ongoing discussion to expand Medicaid eligibility in North Carolina. Ignoring for the moment op

On April 26th the Joint Legislative Committee on Access to Healthcare and Medicaid Expansion convened for the sixth time. NCAHU was invited to address this committee and General Assembly Action Committee Vice-Chair David Smith spoke the committee members and outlined the use of a Medicaid vouche

The politics of the State continue to be squarely focused on redistricting. The North Carolina Supreme Court on Friday struck down the state's new maps for congressional and General Assembly seats Friday saying that the congressional and state legislative maps were partisan gerrymanders that vio

It's true! We still don’t have a budget! There was some interesting grumbling and rumors a few weeks ago that led many of us to speculate that the Republican majority, led by Sen. Phil Berger might be softening their stance on Medicare expansion. It is estimated that expanding Medicare in NC w

The biggest news for the General Assembly to date is that there has been no news. The Fourth of July holiday and the Alec Conference meant that many legislators were out a majority of the month. On Thursday of last week legislators were back in the Generally Assembly buzzing with a renewed fervor

The COVID-19 situation significantly altered the course of legislative events, leaving some uncertainly what – beyond measures to address the immediate crisis – the NC General Assembly’s will attempt to address in the upcoming legislative session, scheduled to commence on April 28. With Governor Co

While the Legislature is on break, your NCAHU committee is working to build coalitions with other healthcare trade groups. In early January the GAAC management team is meeting in Raleigh with NC Medical Society, NC Healthcare Association, and the lobbyist for certificate of need repeal efforts. Th

With Medicaid Expansion now in the rear-view mirror, we will turn our attention to the other issues on our agenda for this session: 1. Working with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services on a 1332 Waiver that would create a risk pool for individual business sold through the Healt

This month, we will begin the new session – beginning with receptions, early meetings and keeping a close eye on committee assignments. Bills will be filed and the first moves on the General Assembly's chess game this season will be taken. With the passage of the CAA 2023 and its requirement that st

October before an election is always an odd time to talk about state legislative matters... all the current members and candidates running against them are all focused on talking to voters and to take advantage of the political winds to get across the finish line. And it's coming... but not for a fe

Welcome – as the new Chair of our state association’s state legislative committee (known as General Assembly Action Committee), I want to use this space to prepare you for upcoming public policy issues and educate you on recent actions in Raleigh. If you have any questions, or want to be more involv

Almost four years ago, in 2019, the General Assembly Action Committee (GAAC) was formed by this association for the purpose of furthering legislation helpful to and in line with, the values of NCAHU. As an original committee member I have been a witness to the effort, growth and efficacy of th

The General Assembly wrapped up nearly all of its work for the calendar year, the last week in November and while they haven't officially adjoined the 2021 long session, legislators are not expected back in the Dome until late January. , The 2021 session, which began in earnest on Jan. 27, mark

The 2021 NC long legislative session is slowly coming to an end with legislators trying to shore up some of the State's biggest political priorities that include the state budget and redistricting. The state budget is the proverbial football in the classic Charlie Brown comic strip. The ball is

The NC General Assembly convened as scheduled on April 28, but met for just a few days and focused on addressing the use of federal pandemic funds and related regulatory issues. The legislative package agreed to by the state House and Senate (and passed unanimously) allocated $1.6B of the $3.5B Cong

A total of 2,156,409 registered voters turned out for the March 3 Primary election, or 31.1% of all registered voters (down slightly from 2016 Primary, at 35.7%). At the top of the ballot, Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden surged ahead in public opinion polls following his win on February

The General Assembly Action Committee (GAAC) is pleased to announce the 2019-2020 members who will serve on this NCAHU committee through the end of the NC Legislative short session in 2020. Our first committee meeting to discuss and plan the NCAHU 2020 legislative priorities will be held October 11

This week, the North Carolina Senate is expected to pass Medicaid expansion in North Carolina, with the House soon to follow. The General Assembly is trying to get this issue resolved before the Medicaid eligibility reviews restarted in May with the end of the COVID national emergency period. But th

Gotta start early to be ready for the General Assembly - and your state Legislative Committee will kick off its work this week in our first pre-session meeting. A few items seems pretty high on the list: 1. Medicaid Expansion. It is clear that this issue will be high on the agenda -- and incredibl

While the legislature remains out of session and the 2022 elections are gearing up, there aren't many big updates for members. But we continue to keep our ear to the ground on issues that may be coming up in the 2023-24 session for consideration. Among those issues include a Health Care Bill of Righ

By now you have probably read or heard that the NC General Assembly is finally, in earnest, taking up the prospect of Medicaid expansion. In addition to Medicaid expansion, HB149 is an expansive piece of legislation that contains a plethora of health care related policy including amending laws th

NAHU completed our 2022 Capital Conference last week. This event is always a yearly high-point for our Association because of its "boots on the ground" advocacy for the work we do as agents and brokers. Attending each year not only gives members an opportunity to hear what is happening legislative

After months of wrangling, negotiations and closed-door private meetings North Carolina has a budget, something the State hasn't seen since 2018. The State's new two-year $52.9 billion budget includes a wide variety of funding provisions, tax law changes, raises for teachers and a new committee

The NCAHU General Assembly Action Committee (GAAC) began its new fiscal year July 1, 2021. This also marks the beginning of my second part of my two-year term as the Chair of this committee. This "long" legislative session has been action packed and I am proud of the work we have done. Our year

State legislative attention continues to focus on COVID-19 related issues. Special committees formed by House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) have been meeting via videoconferencing, with first drafts of proposals emerging: Draft bill released on April 22 by the House’s COVID-19 Healthcare Comm

The General Assembly came back into session Tuesday, January 14th with the desire to override Governor Cooper's veto of the State Budget so teachers can get their pay raises and local municipalities can receive the extra funding that they were granted. The republican control of the Senate needed t