N. Carolina governor signs Medicaid expansion bill into law
At an
“This law, once implemented, will be the working families bill of the decade,” Cooper said. “Today is a historic step toward a healthier North Carolina.”
The measure contains a proviso that Cooper opposed requiring a separate state budget law to be enacted first for expansion to be accepted and implemented. That makes an enrollment start date unclear and gives the
Still, Monday's new law should mean government-funded health coverage to potentially 600,000 adults who earn too much to qualify for traditional Medicaid but too little to received heavily subsidized private insurance. Also coming will be billions of dollars annually from
“While a solution sat just out of reach, with this law I’m about to sign, many of them will be close enough to grab it,” Cooper said, standing next to House Speaker
The two legislators earlier this month finalized a negotiated agreement that contains expansion and looser “certificate of need” regulations on health care facilities before they can open more beds or use expensive equipment. The
But
“Now we have a Medicaid system that is stable,” Berger said. “By transforming our state’s Medicaid program, we’re now in a place where our system can handle those additional enrollees.”
A persistent coalition of expansion proponents — with the governor and his
“I’m thankful for
The expansion fight between Cooper and the legislature began during his first week as governor in 2017. Cooper tried to get President
In 2019, Cooper’s demand that expansion be negotiated contributed to a state budget deadlock with
The 2021 budget law contained language to convene a legislative blue-ribbon commission that looked at expansion and other ways to improve health care access. The
Requiring the budget's passage for expansion provisions to be enacted means
“I feel confident that we can work together to get something that we can agree on,” Cooper told reporters after the signing, adding that expanding Medicaid if now a question of “when” and not “if.”
Monday's legislation directs the state's expansion expenses be paid with hospital assessments. Hospitals also will get money for treating Medicaid expansion patients, and the law will enter them into a federal program for larger reimbursements.
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