RALEIGH, NC – March 27, 2023 – Democratic Governor Roy Cooper, a strong supporter of ME, signed a bill expanding Medicaid on March 27th. Earlier in the week, the North Carolina House passed the bill by an 87-24 vote and sent it to the Governor for his signature. The bill originated in the House, then was sent to the Senate for consideration. Leaders from both chambers of the legislature agreed to add a provision to scale back some of the Certificate-of-Need (CON) restrictions. The state CON laws require state health regulators to review and authorize new health care facilities (including new hospital beds) and expensive medical equipment (like CT scanners). After overwhelmingly passing a Senate vote last week, the bill was sent back to the House for consideration this week.
North Carolina will be the 40th state to expand Medicaid. There are now 10 states that have not expanded Medicaid as recommended in the Affordable Care Act of 2010 and left to each state to decide in a subsequent Supreme Court ruling. Expanding Medicaid will enable six hundred thousand under-resourced North Carolinians to have access to health care including almost 17 thousand people from Buncombe County.
The bill is tied directly to the 2023-24 state budget. The budget must be signed by June 30th (the day before the fiscal year begins) or funding for the ME bill will expire. It is projected that the budget will pass the legislature this summer.
Governor Cooper tweeted “Medicaid Expansion is a once in a generation investment that will make all North Carolina families healthier while strengthening the economy.”
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Contact: Dr. Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, [email protected]
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