Source: AP News
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper recently celebrated the first anniversary of expanding Medicaid access by announcing an impressive feat—the state has nearly reached its 600,000-person enrollment goal a year ahead of schedule.
As of Dec. 4, over 590,000 North Carolinians have enrolled in expanded Medicaid coverage. Many of these enrollees have hovered around the federal poverty line for years, but could not receive health coverage due to falling outside of the program’s strict income caps.
Medicaid expansion was originally made possible through the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010. Since then, 40 states and the District of Columbia have accepted the federally increased health benefits coverage. North Carolina is the most recent state to implement Medicaid expansion — making it one of the only southern states to do so.
Republicans in charge of the General Assembly opposed the idea for years. When Congress offered states additional financial incentives to participate, the GOP-controlled legislature finally joined Gov. Cooper in enacting an expansion law in 2023.
The federal government pays 90% of the cost of expansion, with the remainder paid by an increased assessment of hospitals. These federal incentives have already been appropriated to support North Carolinians, as Cooper’s office cited that $835 million has been put toward mental health treatment and resources over the past year.
Over one-third of the expansion enrollees are from rural areas, Cooper’s office said, and expansion recipients in the past year have been able to fill 3.8 million prescriptions and have covered $58 million in dental services. Overall Medicaid enrollment statewide is now at 3 million.
Cooper’s office also celebrated the start of a first-of-its-kind initiative to relieve medical debt for low- and middle-income patients. The program will give almost 100 hospitals higher Medicaid payments if medical debt is relieved and those hospitals implement policies that prevent liabilities for future patients.
