The 'no' refrain

Editorial by Greensboro News-Record, October 12, 2013.

When it comes to programs for the poor, Gov. Pat McCrory’s administration takes a can’t-do attitude. It said can’t-do to expanding Medicaid coverage and extending jobless benefits.

And that was its initial answer this week to feeding eligible women, infants and children.

The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services announced Tuesday it was forced to cut off benefits. “Some of our most vulnerable citizens, pregnant and breastfeeding women, infants and young children will be affected by the interruption of WIC services due to the federal shutdown,” Secretary Aldona Wos said in a news release.

Terrible. But by Thursday, news reports indicated that North Carolina was the only state doing that. The 49 others were using contingency funds to keep this high-priority service going as long as they could.

Democratic U.S. Rep. David Price of Chapel Hill called the U.S. Department of Agriculture to confirm it was sending emergency WIC funds to the states. He publicly asked why North Carolina wasn’t using them.

Late Thursday, Wos changed course. There was enough money to resume benefits for now, her office said.

Greater diligence could have come to that conclusion sooner.

Except for the turnaround, this episode fits a pattern the McCrory administration has set from the start. It cut unemployment benefits, although doing so cost federal support worth millions of dollars. It declined expanding Medicaid to an estimated 500,000 additional residents, even though federal funds would have covered the entire cost for three years.

When it comes to programs that help the poor, the answer in Raleigh is frequently “we can’t.” For tax cuts that primarily benefit the well-to-do, in contrast, the refrain is “we can and we will.”

North Carolina should not become a welfare state, but its high unemployment and poverty rates show there are people here who really need help.

The same day that DHHS originally announced the suspension of WIC payments, Wos endured hours of questioning before a legislative oversight committee. Even Republicans wanted explanations for high salaries and expensive contracts Wos has awarded to staff members and consultants. She explained that she needs top people to run such a large, complex agency.

Perhaps she should get sounder advice and better results for the money. The Medicaid payment computer tracking system that began operating July 1 has experienced significant problems. Wos inherited a shaky project from the previous administration but should have delayed implementation if it wasn’t ready. In fact, an audit issued in May warned that was the case.

A January audit identified excessive Medicaid overhead costs, indicating Wos had to replace a poor management structure. It’s not clear how well she’s doing.

That’s one issue. It’s another matter when McCrory seems to have made “can’t-do” a policy for serving the poor.