-information courtesy of the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has announced Oct. 1 is the anticipated start date for Medicaid expansion, which could make more than 600,000 state residents eligible to participate in the insurance program.
Medicaid expansion in North Carolina would increase the eligible population to adults aged 19-64 who have incomes up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level on Oct. 1. The General Assembly still must act by Sept. 1 to set the wheels in motion.
The expansion would give health care coverage to single individuals making under about $20,000 a year. Likewise, a family of three earning under about $34,000 combined will now be eligible. Beneficiaries will get care the same way as existing Medicaid beneficiaries and be eligible for the same comprehensive benefits and copays as other non-disabled adults in Medicaid, according to information from DHHS.
“We are thankful for leadership and partnership in passing Medicaid Expansion which will save lives, increase access to care and bring billions of dollars to North Carolina,” said NCDHHS Secretary Kody H. Kinsley. “Moving forward now sets the department on a path to be able to get health care coverage to thousands of people as soon as possible.”
NCDHHS has opened for public comment the State Plan Amendment for Medicaid Expansion’s Alternative Benefit Plan, a legal document required to be submitted to the federal government.
Interested individuals may submit public comment at medicaid.ncdhhs.gov/medex-state-plan-amendment-new-medicaid-expansion-20230726/download?attachment.
DHHS officials have stated that Medicaid expansion “will be transformative for access to health care in rural areas, for better mental health and for veterans, working adults and their families while bringing billions in federal dollars to the state.”
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