Expanding Medicaid in North Carolina

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 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.
