Medicaid plan stirs worry in North Carolina

As part of a Medicaid cost-cutting plan, North Carolina would get about $514.6 million less than expected from the federal government, according to national advocacy group Families USA. The reduction in its first year would cost 11,700 North Carolina jobs and $412.1 million in lost wages, the findings show. The Bush administration has rewritten the rules to limit payments to hospitals and eliminate federal funds for school-based outreach in an effort to cut costs.