House Bill 513 appropriates $1 million in recurring General Fund dollars each year of the 2025-2027 biennium to the Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Aging, to strengthen North Carolina’s Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program. The funding is split between program operations, including equipment, supplies, and transportation, and the addition of nine full-time Regional Ombudsman positions.
The bill is intended to help North Carolina move closer to national standards for long-term care ombudsman programs by expanding staffing and support for regional advocacy services. The new positions would be placed in Area Agencies on Aging regions identified by the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman as most in need of additional support. The act would take effect July 1, 2025.
HB513 would amend state spending law by creating a recurring appropriation from the General Fund to DHHS for the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program. It would increase resources for oversight and advocacy on behalf of residents in long-term care settings, particularly nursing homes and other facilities serving older adults and people with disabilities, by funding both administrative operations and additional regional ombudsman staff.
The available context suggests generally positive support for the bill, as reflected by its bipartisan sponsorship and its straightforward purpose of strengthening long-term care advocacy services. No committee transcript or vote record is available, so there is no evidence of formal opposition in the provided materials. The bill appears framed as a capacity-building measure rather than a controversial policy change.
No specific points of contention are documented in the provided record. Potential areas of discussion, if raised, would likely involve the recurring fiscal commitment, the allocation of funds between operations and staffing, and how the nine new positions would be distributed among regions. However, the bill text indicates those decisions would be guided by the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman, and no opposing arguments are included in the available materials.