AP: “North Carolina legislative leaders announced Thursday an agreement to expand Medicaid to hundreds of thousands of additional low-income adults through the Affordable Care Act.
The deal, which likely won’t be voted on until later this month at the earliest, marks a milestone for Republican lawmakers, most of whom opposed expansion for a decade until recently, and for hospitals and patient advocates who sought it all that time.
North Carolina has been one of 11 states that has not adopted Medicaid expansion. If the deal goes through, the state would start providing expansion coverage to people starting next January.
“This is something that we can all be very proud of,” House Speaker Tim Moore said at a Legislative Building news conference with Senate leader Phil Berger. “What a huge announcement this is for North Carolina. What a huge policy direction this is that will provide help for so many in this state, but it’s going to do it in a way that’s fiscally responsible.””