After 43 days, the federal government shutdown finally ended on Wednesday night. Today’s update shares what the end of the shutdown means for nonprofits. We also share the latest on the NC General Assembly’s inaction on Medicaid funding and the state budget. |
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Federal Government Finally Reopens |
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The federal government officially re-opened Wednesday night after President Donald Trump signed into law a bill (H.R. 5371) to provide temporary funding for the federal government through January 30, ending the longest government shutdown in U.S. history after 43 days. The new continuing resolution provides funding for the full federal government through January 30, 2026 and provides full-year funding (through September 30, 2026) for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), military construction, veterans’ services, and congressional staff. It also reinstates federal employees whose jobs were terminated during the 43-day government shutdown.
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The U.S. Senate passed the continuing resolution in a 60-40 vote on Monday, and the U.S. House of Representatives passed it in a 222-209 vote on Wednesday night, and President Trump quickly signed it into law. Congress will now work to pass full appropriations legislation for most parts of the federal government – or negotiate another short-term continuing resolution – by January 30 to avoid another government shutdown. The inclusion of full-year funding for USDA in this week’s funding bill means that Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits would not be at risk if there is another federal government shutdown before September 30, 2026 (see the next item for more details).
Eight Senate Democrats voted for the bill, even though it did not address Democrats’ concern about the looming expiration of enhanced premium tax credits on Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace health plans. The expiration of those tax credits will mean significant increases in health costs for many North Carolinians in 2026, including many people who are clients of nonprofits and employees of nonprofits that do not offer employer-provided health coverage. As part of the deal to end the shutdown, the U.S. Senate is planning to vote on legislation to extend the ACA enhanced premium tax credits in December, but it is unclear whether that legislation will pass the Senate. Even if the Senate passes health care legislation next month, it is unlikely that the U.S. House would vote on it.
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Full SNAP Benefits for November to Be Available to North Carolinians Today |
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The NC Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) announced yesterday that it expects to process full Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for November by today and that full SNAP benefits would be loaded onto EBT cards for more than 600,000 North Carolina families this morning. This ends more than two weeks of food security challenges for 1.4 million North Carolinians and added pressure on many nonprofits that provide food assistance.
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As a result of the government shutdown, federal funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) ended on October 31, meaning that 1.4 million North Carolinians lost their federal food assistance benefits on November 1. Two weeks ago, a federal court in Rhode Island ordered the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to use $6 billion in available contingency funding to provide partial SNAP benefits for November and to find other available funding to provide full SNAP benefits during November. Then, last Thursday, in request to a follow-up petition from the plaintiffs, the court issued a second order directing USDA to provide full, rather than partial benefits for the month of November and to make payments to states for these benefits by today. The U.S. Department of Justice appealed that court order, and the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately issued two orders (one on November 7 and one on November 11) that effectively delayed the implementation of full SNAP benefits until yesterday to give the Supreme Court more time to consider the merits of the case. The case is now moot since the federal government shutdown ended and full SNAP benefits for November are being restored.
As a result of the mixed guidance from USDA and federal courts, the NC Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) had issued partial SNAP benefits (at 65% or less of the usual amount) to about 586,000 households last week but had not been able to provide SNAP benefits to other household due to USDA funding rules. Now that the government shutdown has ended, full SNAP benefits should resume this morning. In the meantime, a wide variety of nonprofits have had to cover significant additional food assistance needs for North Carolinians who typically rely on SNAP.
As noted in the previous item, the funding bill passed by Congress this week provides full funding for SNAP benefits through September 30, 2026, so SNAP benefits will not be affected if there is another government shutdown in the next 10 months. |
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NC General Assembly Unlikely to Address Medicaid Funding or State Budget Next Week |
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Last week, Governor Stein called for the NC General Assembly to have a special session beginning the afternoon of November 17 to address Medicaid funding. Lawmakers were already scheduled to have a four-day mini-session on November 17-20, but legislative leaders have indicated that next week’s sessions will not include any votes and that lawmakers are not expected to have any more voting sessions until sometime in 2026.
On October 1, the NC Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) cut rates for Medicaid providers, including many nonprofits. The cuts came after the NC Senate and NC House of Representatives were unable to agree on legislation to fully fund Medicaid for the current fiscal year. Specifically, DHHS: |
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Implemented a 3% rate reduction for providers of most services to Medicaid recipients;
- Implemented a 10% rate reduction for acute care hospitals, nursing homes, psychiatric residential treatment facilities, and research-based Behavioral Health Therapy/Applied Behavior Analysis services for people with autism, and implemented an 8% rate reduction for intermediate care facilities; and
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Reduced Medicaid administrative costs, including ending or reducing some contracts, halting some projects, and cutting back on compliance and quality assurance activities.
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This week, a state court judge issued an injunction preventing DHHS from implementing rate cuts for providers of one type of service to children with autism. That ruling does not prevent rate cuts to other providers.
A variety of nonprofits and individuals receiving Medicaid benefits have shared with legislators the impacts of the Medicaid cuts on the lives of North Carolinians. Both the NC Senate and NC House of Representatives have unanimously passed bills (three bills for the House) to fully fund Medicaid, but the chambers have been unable to agree on whether to include other provisions in the Medicaid funding legislation.
In addition to Medicaid funding, the NC Senate and the NC House of Representatives remain at an impasse on details of the overall state budget for FY2025-27. North Carolina is one of only two states without a state budget this year. While state law prevents a government shutdown when legislators and the Governor are unable to pass a budget, the lack of a budget has a variety of consequences for state government operations, for nonprofits, and for North Carolinians.
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Last Call for 2025 Conference for NC’s Nonprofits |
Rates increase and online registration closes on Monday for the 2025 Conference for NC’s Nonprofits! Don't miss the opportunity to join peers from across the state next week on November 19-20 in RTP to talk about how nonprofit leaders are advocating for their communities, responding to policy changes, and protecting the heart of their missions and teams in the face of shifting policies and funding. The two-day event features a keynote on leading during uncertainty; deep dives on legal compliance, fundraising trends, and leadership pipelines; sessions on leadership, healthy workplaces, AI tools, funding strategies, and more; plus networking, an exhibit hall, and continuing education credits. Check out the full line up and register today.
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