North Carolina lawmakers will find out more Tuesday about why many families have been facing long delays for food stamps, what's next for the state's proposed Medicaid overhaul, and why certain Department Health and Human Services employees have received large raises.
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t could be a long day for state Secretary of Health and Human Services Aldona Wos. She's due Tuesday morning and later that afternoon in front of legislative oversight committees.
The morning session will focus on new systems the state uses to process Medicaid payments and food stamp applications. The transition to both systems has been difficult. The delays got so bad in Cabarrus County, for example, that it took more than two months on average for people to get food stamps.
Then in the afternoon, the governor's office will give an update on its proposed Medicaid overhaul. Wos and the governor announced their plan in April to put three or four massive organizations in charge of managing Medicaid services for everyone. But one of the architects of that overhaul – state Medicaid director Carol Steckel – resigned last month.
Also, Wos is scheduled to address employee salaries and contracts. She's received criticism for raises of more than $20,000 each to staffers who worked on Governor McCrory's campaign last year. She also approved a more than $225,000 contract for a man who used to work with her husband.
