Residents and commissioners press MCO on long waiver waits as VIA outlines services

Tim Abe led off public comments on Nov. 24, calling for caution around large industrial rezoning and energy use, but the meeting’s longest exchange focused on county residents’ complaints about managed‑care services after the regional MCO transition.

Eddie Barney Castle told the Board he and his wife have spent years trying to secure Innovations Waiver home modifications for their daughter and said verbal approvals have not translated into completed work. "If my daughter is getting $65,000 a year and she ain't used a dime of it, where's it going?" he asked, urging clearer accounting and the right of families to choose their provider.

VIA Health community relations director Carara Donor, who was attending to present VIA’s quarterly county report, said VIA manages Medicaid and behavioral‑health services for 32 counties and has expanded efforts to coordinate physical health, pharmacy and peer‑support programs. She gave county figures for the Innovations Waiver: 66 Stokes residents are currently served and 53 are on a waiting list. "I think it's an incredible program," Donor said, but acknowledged slots and funding are limited and that wait times have been many years for some families.

Commissioners pressed for specifics about how VIA was selected, whether families may choose another MCO, and how to improve outreach. Donor said selection happened through a prior request‑for‑proposals process and that state rules and allocations limit counties’ ongoing ability to pick MCOs unilaterally. She offered to bring subject‑matter experts back to the Board and to connect families with a family‑partner navigator to establish paper trails and appeals.

Commissioners said they would collect the names and documentation from aggrieved families and seek to pin down where service breakdowns occurred. "If somebody comes to us about something that's going on in our county, it's our job to address that," one commissioner said.

What’s next: VIA agreed to follow up with families and return with more detailed staff and process information at a future quarterly visit; commissioners asked staff to assemble affected families’ paperwork so the Board can investigate funding, communication and timeliness issues.

Notes: The innovations waiver discussion included references to statewide slot increases (5,000 additional spots budgeted for 2025) and funding shares (approximately 67% federal, 33% state), figures VIA staff cited during the meeting. The article is based on direct statements at the Nov. 24 Stokes County commissioners meeting and VIA’s county presentation.