Washington, D.C. — Today, Gov. Roy Cooper (D-NC) signed bipartisan legislation to expand Medicaid eligibility in the state. The state is on track to become the 40th to implement the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) Medicaid expansion. Emily Gee, senior vice president for Inclusive Growth, released the following statement:
Medicaid expansion will benefit hundreds of thousands of low-income North Carolinians and deliver health care providers the resources they need to better serve patients. President Joe Biden enhanced the ACA’s financial incentives for expanding Medicaid. Gov. Cooper and North Carolina lawmakers are smart not to let this opportunity for federal funds pass them by. North Carolina’s expansion will build on the Biden administration’s record-low uninsured rates and bring us closer to closing the health care coverage gap. Medicaid expansion equips North Carolina to better meet urgent health challenges; improve access to mental health providers and substance use disorder treatment; and shore up the financial sustainability of the state’s hospitals, especially in rural communities. As a wealth of evidence from other expansion states shows, North Carolina can expect to benefit from improvements in health coverage and outcomes, economic security, and community vibrancy in the years ahead. Gov. Cooper’s years of leadership on this issue made this expansion possible, and hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians will benefit.
Related resource: “North Carolina’s Expansion of Medicaid Should Inspire to Other States” by Natasha Murphy and Nicole Rapfogel
For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact Sarah Nadeau at [email protected].