Weeks before the 12-year anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, Former Ohio Governor John Kasich and other speakers shared policy details on states’ expanding Medicaid to more working adults, as North Carolina lawmakers weigh the potential of approving the health care coverage program.
North Carolina remains one of twelve states that have yet to expand Medicaid under the 2010 federal health care law that allows individuals who make too much to qualify for traditional Medicaid but don’t make enough to qualify for government-subsidized private insurance.
Since its passage, state Republicans have stood firm in rejecting the expanded health care coverage, despite the financial incentives and health and economic benefits.
“What I would say to the fine members of the legislature in North Carolina, to the people in North Carolina, there’s a lot of people that need a lot of help,” stated Kasich, who championed Medicaid expansion in Ohio.
“We have to open our hearts to those people,” Kasich said. “That doesn’t mean that when we do that, we put ourselves on the road to bankruptcy. It means that we have good management. And at the same time to be able to expand this program.”
Currently, more than 2.7 million North Carolinians are enrolled in traditional Medicaid. If Medicaid is expanded, over 600,000 residents would likely benefit in the first two years.
