Expanding Medicaid in North Carolina

Medicaid expansion means healthy people and a healthy economy

Expanding Medicaid means 500,000 North Carolinians will be able to go to the doctor. They’ll be able to get their medication. They’ll be able to keep their kids and themselves healthy. Right now families of three making between $8,000 and $21,000 a year can’t get on Medicaid but also cannot get a subsidy to purchase low-cost health insurance from the Affordable Care Act.

37 states have taken action to expand access to their Medicaid program – including red states like Utah, Idaho, and Nebraska. Every House and Senate Democrat in the North Carolina General Assembly signed on to co-sponsor a pair of a companion bills in the House and Senate that will ensure every North Carolinian gets access to affordable health care.

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    Benefits of Expanding Medicaid

    • Expanding Medicaid would help half a million North Carolinians get access to affordable healthcare.
    • Medicaid expansion would provide care for up to 150,000 people with behavioral health needs.
    • Up to 23,000 North Carolina veterans stand to benefit from Medicaid expansion.
    • We have more than 500,000 working people that are one illness, one major injury away from bankruptcy.
    • And we have a system in place to provide them with the support they need.
    • Covering the insured has the potential to lower everyone’s healthcare costs.
    • We have seen this play out in other states that have expanded Medicaid, where insurance premiums are seven percent lower on average.
    • Expanding Medicaid and closing the coverage gap is good for business, especially rural business.

    Medicaid expansion is good for North Carolina's economy.

    Closing the gap in North Carolina would create an estimated 43,000 jobs in the first five years and an estimated $4 billion in economic impact to our state’s economy on an annual basis.

    Many of these jobs would go to the 44 rural counties where the local hospital is one of the five biggest employers. Even the head of the North Carolina Healthcare Association said that Medicaid expansion is “the right thing to do for business.”

    These are not just healthcare jobs. These are construction jobs, retail, food service, and other industries that stand to benefit from the increased activity in their communities.

    Medicaid Expansion Legislation

    Current Law: NC Medicaid is currently available to low-income children, pregnant women, parents, seniors and people with disabilities. It is not available to childless adults who are not otherwise categorically eligible.

    Proposed Bill: Expand the Medicaid program to include individuals 19-64 years old, who are not eligible for Medicare or Medicaid, and have an income at or below 133 percent of the federal poverty rate. The new Prepaid Health plans will manage benefits. The state share of funding would be provided through assessments on hospitals. The assessment is determined by dividing the total state share of costs for closing the coverage gap by the aggregate hospital inpatient and outpatient costs of all hospitals.

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    What People Are Saying about expanding Medicaid in North Carolina:

    500,000 North Carolinians currently have no health care coverage.

    A clean expansion bill is the fastest way to get these people the care that they need and bring economic activity to our rural communities.