A bill to expand Medicaid in North Carolina, providing hundreds of thousands of the state’s working poor with insurance moved forward Tuesday at the General Assembly. Crucial negotiations remain ahead in the Senate. House lawmakers moved House Bill 76 through two committees Tuesday, February 14th with no debate and no public criticism beyond a handful of audible “no” votes during one of the two committee stops. The bill is expected to head to the House floor for a pair of required votes Wednesday and Thursday.
During the Public Health Emergency, in exchange for additional federal funds, states agreed not to dis-enroll medicaid patients. That means that when the Public Health Emergency for Covid ends on May 11th, 5-8 million people nationally will lose health coverage through Medicaid. It means in North Carolina, where our state legislature has not chosen to expand medicaid, North Carolina Health & Human Services expects that 37,000 North Carolinians will lose health coverage through medicaid. What can you do? You can educate yourself on and advocate for medicaid expansion. Medicaid expansion, if accepted by the state of North Carolina, would mean that 90% of the cost would be paid for by the federal government. Learn more at www.care4carolina.com, including how to contact your local elected officials and then please reach out to them to advocate for medicaid expansion to protect the medically vulnerable in our state. You can also read Care4Carolina’s latest article on medicaid expansion found here: https://care4carolina.com/2023/a-medicaid-expansion-valentine-for-north-carolina-healthcare-providers/
*This Information is being shared by the NC Conference Health Team