Raise DSP Pay to $25 Per Hour.

SB 239 increases the hourly wage for Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) serving Medicaid beneficiaries under North Carolina's Innovations waiver program by $5 per hour for the 2025-2026 fiscal year and another $5 per hour for 2026-2027. The law requires providers receiving this funding to use at least 90% of the increased payments to raise DSP wages directly, with verification through payroll documentation. The Department of Health and Human Services (DHB) will adjust payments to managed care organizations (LME/MCOs), which must pass the increase to providers and report quarterly on DSP wage changes. This policy directly affects DSPs working with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) and their employers under the waiver program.