The ACA needs such adjustments, but it’s also being undermined by Republican opposition. The GOP-led General Assembly refused to set up a state-run exchange, thus stripping the insurance commissioner of his leverage on premiums or his ability to adjust to suit the state market. And the legislature refused to expand Medicaid, leading some low-income people whose medical costs could have been borne …

Medicaid expansion in North Carolina would not only provide coverage to several hundred thousand people who are currently uninsured, it would create thousands of jobs and help struggling rural hospitals stay open and serve their local communities. And the federal government would pick up most of the cost. Read More

The many voices calling for Medicaid expansion in North Carolina for the past two years have been ignored by the Republican-led General Assembly. But some people have been sitting on the sidelines because they don’t really feel that the issue affects them. Read more

Two years after the start of the Affordable Care Act and three years after the N.C. General Assembly and Gov. Pat McCrory blocked federally funded expansion of Medicaid to cover the working poor, it’s time to remind our legislators of the effects of their decision: the avoidable costs, the unnecessary deaths, the intolerable cruelty. On Saturday, I am rising early …

Expanding Medicaid is good for healthcare, good for jobs and the economy. They concluded it is time “for an honest dialogue about the costs and benefits of expanding Medicaid”. Read more

The state’s Medicaid program is on pace to come in under budget for the third consecutive fiscal year, state health officials told legislators Tuesday. Trey Sutten, the finance director for the state Medicaid program, said the program was $181 million, or 9.3 percent, under budget through Dec. 31. Read more

Let’s remember that the purpose of the ACA is not to expand health insurance but to expand access to health care. We achieved that goal in North Carolina, and it would have helped more North Carolinians meet their need for good health care if our state leaders had not blocked Medicaid expansion for low-income adults not covered by Medicaid. Read …

When journalists write about social issues such as North Carolina’s refusal to expand Medicaid to provide health insurance to about 500,000 residents, it’s easy for that number to seem abstract. Who are these folks who fall into the “Medicaid gap” created by the state’s failure to act? The answer is, they are our neighbors — folks like a single parent …

Working on the front lines of those struggling to afford health care, Lance Goller recognizes first-hand the pitfalls faced by those who fall in the Medicaid gap. About 500,000 low-income people in North Carolina do not qualify for Medicaid or the subsidies available through the Affordable Care Act, and that impact is being felt here in Henderson County. Read more …

How would the industry be doing if North Carolina had expanded Medicaid back in 2013? We may never know, but what we do know is that another half million, low-income people in the state would have health insurance right now. Read more here.