RALEIGH, NC – October 3, 2022 – By the close of the 2022 North Carolina General Assembly legislative session, there was one bill in each chamber that favored expanding Medicaid. Medicaid expansion would increase health care access to about 600,000 North Carolinians, including almost 17,000 people in Buncombe County.
The Senate version includes eliminating the state’s certificate of need (CON) law allowing the state government to oversee the distribution of healthcare equipment and services. Examples are the number of hospital beds, ambulatory surgical centers and sophisticated imaging devices like MRIs and CT scans. The state hospital association is against eliminating the CON, but has offered a counter-proposal.
The House of Representatives bill, in contrast to the Senate’s version, does not contain any other provisions.
Expanding Medicaid in North Carolina:
- Stimulates the economy by creating jobs and growing business
- Brings more money into the state coffers from the federal incentive funding, estimated at between 1-2 billion dollars in the first 2 years
- Keeps more people healthy with earlier cancer diagnosis, fewer cancer deaths, and better access to treatment for mental health and substance use disorder.
Listen to the full report below:
Contact: Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, [email protected]
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