Health Care
Care for Women, Children and Families Act
Last year, we passed the Care for Women, Children, and Families Act to support and protect North Carolinians.
Updated Abortion Law in North Carolina
Abortion Access: Allowed through the first 12 weeks (3 months) of pregnancy for any reason, up to 20 (5 months) weeks if due to rape or incest, up to 24 weeks (6 months) for life-limiting anomalies in the unborn child, and at any point for the life or health of the mother.
Enhancing Safety and Regulation in Abortion Services
Safety Requirements: All surgical abortions up to the 12th week of pregnancy be performed in hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, or licensed abortion clinics, with procedures beyond 12 weeks restricted to hospitals only. The Department of Health and Human Services is empowered to adopt rules for regulating abortion clinics, ensuring higher standards of safety and compliance.
Upholding Medical Care Standards for All Newborns
Newborn Care: Mandates that medical providers extend the same standard of care to children born alive following an attempted abortion as they would to any child born at the same gestational age.
Advancing Women's Health and Family Support
Maternal and Infant Health: Enhances maternal and infant health by increasing Medicaid payments for obstetric care, expanding access to long-term contraceptives through competitive grants, and broadening the practice authority of Certified Nurse Midwives. Funds have been allocated to expand the Safe Sleep North Carolina Campaign.
Supporting State Employees' Family Needs
Paid Parental Leave: Provides eight weeks of paid parental leave for state employees following childbirth and four weeks for parents who adopt, foster, or legally place a child.
Enhancing Child Welfare and Family Support
Child Welfare: Strengthens child permanency, safe surrender of infants, foster care, adoption, and support for new mothers by amending laws for safely surrendering infants, increasing foster care and adoption rates, and preventing racial discrimination in child placement. Significant funding is allocated to maternity homes, the Safe Sleep North Carolina Campaign, and the NC Finish Line Grants Program.
Improving Child Care Affordability and Access
Child Care Support: Enhances child care support by updating reimbursement rates for three-, four-, and five-star childcare facilities. This legislation, backed by significant funding increases, also modifies the tuition reimbursement structure for low-income children in private childcare facilities, ensuring greater access and affordability in child care services.
Strengthening Protections Against Sexual and Domestic Violence
Violence Protections: Broadens the scope of satellite-based monitoring for violent and repeat sexual offenders and extends the monitoring duration. Additionally, it increases penalties for assault on a pregnant woman and establishes a specific misdemeanor offense for domestic violence.
Expanding Healthcare Access in North Carolina
Medicaid Expansion:
Last year, we launched NC Health Works, extending Medicaid coverage to adults aged 18-64 with incomes up to 133% of the federal poverty level. This expansion is providing hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians with much-needed healthcare access.
Responsible Financing:
The expansion is financially prudent, with the state's share of costs (10%) funded by hospital assessments, ensuring that no additional financial burden falls on North Carolina taxpayers.
Providing Workforce Development as a Pathway to Independence:
Recognizing the importance of economic independence, we are providing workforce development programs to Medicaid recipients. This initiative offers a hand up, not a handout, by equipping individuals with the skills and resources needed to enter the workforce and transition away from Medicaid dependency.
Increasing Healthcare Competition and Efficiency:
We are streamlining healthcare services by removing outdated certificate of need laws for psychiatric beds, MRI machines, and ambulatory surgical centers in large counties. This deregulation will increase competition, lower costs, and speed up the availability of essential healthcare services.
Ensuring Long-Term Sustainability and Access:
The law includes triggers to responsibly end Medicaid expansion if federal funding decreases below 90%, or if state funding sources are insufficient. This ensures long-term fiscal sustainability without compromising on the quality of healthcare.
Medical Cannabis
I sponsored the North Carolina Compassionate Care Act and led the fight to legalize medical cannabis. This legislation aims to provide regulated medical cannabis to qualified patients with debilitating medical conditions, including veterans with PTSD, cancer patients, and individuals with epilepsy, ALS, and Parkinson's disease. It establishes a comprehensive framework for a regulated medical cannabis supply system, with strict safety and compliance standards, ensuring legal protection and access for patients and their caregivers. The legislation passed the Senate, and I will keep working until we get it done, ensuring that those in need receive compassionate care and support.
Investment in Children's Behavioral Health
Provided $319 million to construct a new state-of-the-art UNC Children’s Behavioral Health Hospital. This facility will enhance mental health services for our youth, ensuring they receive the care and support they need in a cutting-edge environment.