Beginning on December 1, Governor Roy Cooper’s Medicaid expansion plan aims to provide coverage to 500,000 North Carolinians within the first two years.
Those who previously were not eligible for Medicaid might soon be able to apply.
More people will be able to access healthcare at little or no cost to them if Medicaid is expanded.
Dr. Randall Williams of the Carteret County Health Department stated that he anticipates approximately 4,000 county residents to sign up for Medicaid, adding to the county’s current enrollment of 14,000 people.
Dr. Williams sees the benefit of expanded services for working North Carolinians, emphasizing preventive and illness-related care.
On the other hand, Brian Balfour, Senior Vice President of Research at the John Locke Foundation, expresses concern that this expansion may increase government dependency without addressing the root causes of the affordability challenges in healthcare.
The proposed Medicaid expansion in North Carolina aims to extend coverage to individuals between the ages of 19 and 64.
How to Be Eligible for Medicaid Expansion?
To qualify for this expanded coverage, there are specific income criteria that individuals and families must meet.
For a single person to be considered eligible, their maximum annual income should not exceed $20,120.
Similarly, for larger households, such as a family of six, the total annual income must be below $55,586 to qualify for Medicaid expansion benefits.
These income thresholds serve as a means of determining eligibility and ensuring that the expanded Medicaid coverage reaches those individuals and families who fall within the specified income brackets.
To support this expansion, 102 hospitals throughout North Carolina received grants totaling approximately $2.6 billion.
There are currently over 2 million people in North Carolina enrolled in Medicaid, so the expansion raises questions about who these individuals will see when they need medical attention.
Medicaid eligibility for noncitizens is still possible, but it requires at least five years of qualifying noncitizen status.
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