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State Sen. Kevin Corbin (R-Franklin), who represents Cherokee and surrounding counties, continues to put the people he serves above partisan politics – and more than 600,000 North Carolina residents may soon have access to affordable health care as a result.
On May 25, Corbin joined many of his fellow Republican colleagues for a press conference announcing “NC Health Works,” a bill proposing an overhaul of North Carolina’s health-care industry, which would include a Medicaid expansion plan that would provide health insurance to hundreds of thousands across North Carolina. This is a big deal, as the state has resisted the idea for a dozen years in large part because Medicaid expansion is tied to the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare.
The legislation is “aimed at increasing access to health care through things such as telehealth, amendments to the state’s CON (Certificate of Need) process and closing the health insurance coverage gap through Medicaid expansion,” Corbin said in a release. “This is arguably the biggest news to happen in North Carolina in 100 years.”
Just as importantly in these tight financial times, Corbin added that the bill “would improve quality of health care in the state in an efficient and effective manner while having no negative impact on the state’s budget.”
State Sen. Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) admitted that he has probably been the state’s most vocal opponent to Medicaid expansion. However, he said the time to do so is now to boost the supply of health services in the state.
In light of the school shooting in Texas later that day, Gov. Roy Cooper pointed out that Medicaid expansion would “provide billions of dollars for mental health” coverage. “Pass it and I’ll sign it,” he said in a release.
First, House Bill 149 will start moving through committee in the state Senate, where it is expected to pass. Republicans acknowledged that the legislation faces an uphill battle in the House, which has members who remain vocally opposed to the measure for political reasons that don’t hold up under the facts.
All but 12 states have accepted federal funding to expand Medicaid under the ACA since it was enacted in 2010. In North Carolina, where about 2.7 million residents are enrolled in Medicaid, the additional federal funding available for state’s to expand Medicaid would give the state $1.5 billion over two years from federal COVID-19 relief legislation, a factor Berger noted was considered during his shift from opposition to support.
The draft bill summary indicates the state would pay its 10 percent of Medicaid expansion costs through a new assessment on hospitals, and expansion would end if Congress increased the state’s share of the expense. Those are common-sense measures that would help protect state taxpayers if things change.
While there are still opponents to the measure, the same ones who are against anything they perceive as expanding the size of government, there is nothing the N.C. General Assembly could do to more positively impact state residents than giving them access to affordable health care. We concur with Corbin and wish him success in his noble efforts.