The holdout of Republican states from expanding Medicaid is one of the cruelest policies of spite this country has seen since their Jim Crow laws. Yesterday Republican leaders in North Carolina agreed to break from the red wall of spite to ensure healthcare access to its citizens. There is no hope in the remaining 10.
North Carolina just took a big step forward on Medicaid expansion
Medicaid expansion in North Carolina just got a major boost. Republican leaders clinched an agreement yesterday to expand the safety net program to roughly 600,000 people — a compromise that could put an end to an over-a-decade-long political battle.
The agreement from Senate leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore won praise from Democrats and advocates alike, who argue it’s long past time for North Carolina to take up Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion. The new version of the legislation is still being drafted, and the two Republican leaders briefed the state’s Democratic governor on their plan after announcing the deal in a news conference yesterday morning.
“I support it,” Gov. Roy Cooper (D) said in a phone interview yesterday after he discussed the agreement with Berger and Moore. “We’re just working to try to see if we can change the timing on it a bit. … But overall, it is a monumental step for our state.”
The deal marks a stark turnaround for Republican leaders that played out over years in North Carolina and in states across the country, as more and more governors and legislatures expanded Medicaid to low-income residents. When that stopped working years ago, advocates put the measures on the ballot in seven conservative-leaning states, and voters approved expansion in every one. North Carolina is one of just 11 states that have long refused Medicaid expansion, which was originally included in the 2010 Affordable Care, but made voluntary for states by the Supreme Court. Doing so in the rest of the holdout states is a tough climb for supporters of the program.
The status of states:
Status of State Medicaid Expansion Decisions: Interactive Map
North Carolina just took a big step forward on Medicaid expansion
Medicaid expansion in North Carolina just got a major boost. Republican leaders clinched an agreement yesterday to expand the safety net program to roughly 600,000 people — a compromise that could put an end to an over-a-decade-long political battle.
The agreement from Senate leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore won praise from Democrats and advocates alike, who argue it’s long past time for North Carolina to take up Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion. The new version of the legislation is still being drafted, and the two Republican leaders briefed the state’s Democratic governor on their plan after announcing the deal in a news conference yesterday morning.
“I support it,” Gov. Roy Cooper (D) said in a phone interview yesterday after he discussed the agreement with Berger and Moore. “We’re just working to try to see if we can change the timing on it a bit. … But overall, it is a monumental step for our state.”
The deal marks a stark turnaround for Republican leaders that played out over years in North Carolina and in states across the country, as more and more governors and legislatures expanded Medicaid to low-income residents. When that stopped working years ago, advocates put the measures on the ballot in seven conservative-leaning states, and voters approved expansion in every one. North Carolina is one of just 11 states that have long refused Medicaid expansion, which was originally included in the 2010 Affordable Care, but made voluntary for states by the Supreme Court. Doing so in the rest of the holdout states is a tough climb for supporters of the program.
The status of states:
Status of State Medicaid Expansion Decisions: Interactive Map
