Stein orders NC lawmakers back into session to address Medicaid funding shortfalls

Stein Calls North Carolina Lawmakers Back to Address Medicaid Funding

Nearly one in three residents of North Carolina relies on Medicaid for health insurance. However, as 2025 nears its end, the program faces a shortfall of hundreds of millions of dollars because the state legislature has not passed a new budget.

Special Session Called by Governor Josh Stein

Governor Josh Stein announced on Thursday that lawmakers must return to Raleigh later this month. He invoked his constitutional power to summon a special legislative session, a rare action only used a few times in recent decades. Stein emphasized that this step is critical to resolve the Medicaid funding gap, which legislators have failed to address voluntarily.

“It is time to fund Medicaid, because if they fail to do so, people are suffering, and it is unacceptable,”

Stein, a Democrat, stated during a news conference at the state Capitol.

Political Disagreement Over Medicaid Funding

Republican leaders accuse Stein of politicizing the Medicaid issue. The legislature adjourned last month without scheduling votes on major laws for the remainder of the year, making a new budget unlikely before 2026.

House Speaker Destin Hall acknowledged the seriousness of Medicaid funding but criticized Stein’s timing as politically motivated and accelerating budget cuts unnecessarily. However, he stressed that the legislature needs to act and urged the state Senate to approve the spending bills already passed by the House.

“The House has done its job to fund Medicaid with clean bills and is prepared to do more if needed,”

Hall said in a written statement.

Summary

Governor Stein is using rare constitutional authority to reconvene North Carolina lawmakers in a special session to resolve a critical Medicaid funding shortfall, amid political tensions over the budget delay.

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WRAL WRAL — 2025-11-07

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