WS Chronicle

The North Carolina Academy of Family Physicians (NCAFP) has concerns about the legislature’s plan to overhaul North Carolina’s Medicaid program.“Today, Governor McCrory laid out a proposal that will overhaul our state’s Medicaid program. While we are still learning the details of the program, family physicians have some significant concerns about the plan,” said Dr. Shannon Dowler, NCAFP President and a family physician from Asheville.

Currently, most primary care physicians in North Carolina accept Medicaid, thanks in large part to the state’s award winning care management program, Community Care of North Carolina (CCNC). NCAFP members said they had hoped that McCrory’s proposal would build on the efforts of CCNC, which they say has succeeded through a partnership of doctors, hospitals and health departments working together to improve care and lower costs.

Dowler

“This is an award-winning program that has been touted nationally for its innovation using patient-centered medical homes,” Dowler said.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, North Carolina had the lowest average rate of increase in Medicaid spending in the country from 2007-2010, at an average annual increase of only 3.5 percent, as compared to a national rate of 6.8 percent.

NCAFP’s position is that instead of building on the existing infrastructure that has led to this savings, the Governor’s proposal could mean turning the healthcare of more than 1,000,000 North Carolinians to outside, profit-driven managed care companies.

“While we certainly look forward to working with the Department of Health and Human Services to improve the state’s Medicaid program, we hope the Governor and the Legislature will move very cautiously before implementing this plan,” Dowler added.

The North Carolina Academy of Family Physicians, Inc. (NCAFP) is a non-profit professional association headquartered in Raleigh representing over 3,300 family physicians, family medicine residents and medical students across North Carolina.  It is the largest medical specialty association in the state and is a constituent chapter of the 101,000 member-strong American Academy of Family Physicians.