Medicaid

Tens of thousands of beneficiaries with extensive care needs are expected to be moved to tailored plans on July 1.

Medicaid expansion goes live in North Carolina today, opening up the government-run health insurance program to hundreds of thousands of low income adults.

North Carolina legislators passed — and Gov. Roy Cooper signed — a Medicaid expansion law earlier this year. The move will bring health insurance to some 600,000 low-income North Carolinians beginning Dec. 1. For some patients and providers, expansion can’t come soon enough.

The state budget includes a long-requested rate increase for private duty nursing, but advocates say it will take more to recruit enough nurses to care for complex patients.

For a few hours this week, it seemed like Medicaid expansion would not become a reality in North Carolina. But with final votes on the state budget expected before the weekend, health equity advocates are again optimistic.

N.C. Department of Health and Human Services will have to delay the expansion of Medicaid. Secretary Kody Kinsley says this delay comes because the General Assembly has not yet passed a budget.

Cooper met with elected officials and physicians in Martin, Richmond and Yadkin counties to attempt to build pressure upon Republican legislation to hustle on a budget agreement. Right now, an enacted budget law is what's blocking coverage to an estimated 600,000 low-income adults.

The General Assembly was expected to pass a state budget by July 1. Now, it could be weeks until a budget is approved and state health officials can start rolling out Medicaid expansion.

But the expansion program won't happen then unless elected officials take one last action soon. The Democratic governor signed an expansion law in March, pontentially providing health coverage to another 600,000 adults.

Kinsley said beneficiaries could continue to lose their coverage until Medicaid expansion can take effect.