North Carolina plans to introduce managed care delivery to its Medicaid program in 2020, with plans due to roll out late next year.

That state said that its Medicaid beneficiaries will initially be auto-assigned to a prepaid health plan (PHP), but will have the option to review their coverage and switch plans within 90 days of managed care’s initial launch in November, 2019.

The move fulfills the North Carolina General Assembly’s 2015 vote to reform its Medicaid system. More than half of the state’s Medicaid programs are now managed care programs, reported Ben Steelman of the Wilmington Star News.

North Carolina’s move toward managed care delivery must first be approved by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), via a Section 1115 waiver, but state officials expect that such approval will come in short order.

North Carolina is now fielding proposals from managed care providers to be included in its initial plan offerings; four plans are currently under consideration, the state’s Dept. of Health and Human Services secretary, Mandy K. Cohen, told Steelman.

Read more here, in the Wilmington Star News.