When it comes to implementing Medicaid expansion in Guilford County and across North Carolina, it’s been a case of “Hurry, hurry – wait!” as several delays and road blocks have arisen this year.
However, on Friday, Oct. 13, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) received final federal approval – from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services – for North Carolina to launch Medicaid expansion on December 1, 2023.
Guilford County has already created a new division in its Health and Human Services Department and added over 50 new positions to prepare for the expansion. The department has been hiring and training those workers to be ready for the launch, and other counties across the state have been doing the same.
The federal approval of the North Carolina State Plan Amendment is a required step forward in implementing expansion – which will mean getting more than 600,000 people in North Carolina health care coverage through Medicaid.
In Guilford County, expansion is expected to mean 33,000 more clients on the Medicaid rolls – increasing the total to about 200,000 county residents, or 37 percent of the county’s population.
Guilford County’s 2023-2024 budget included money needed for the expansion and it funded the social services positions with help from state funds.
NC Governor Roy Cooper in a NCDHHS press release on Friday stated that the federal approval was very good news.
“North Carolina is working hard to prepare for Medicaid expansion to start Dec. 1, and this is an important step,” Cooper said. “Expanding Medicaid is a monumental achievement that will improve the health and lives of hundreds of thousands of people while helping our health care providers and economy.”
NCDHHS Secretary Kody Kinsley also liked hearing the news.
“We are grateful to our federal partners for their close partnership and this final approval enabling hundreds of thousands of people the health care coverage they have been waiting for,” Kinsley said. “North Carolina is now well on our way to launch Medicaid expansion, and on December 1, about 300,000 people will automatically be enrolled in full coverage.”
Re. Helping the homeless-no one wants anyone homeless, especially the innocent children-they didn’t create the problem. The following does not refer to ALL the homeless. Many of the same homeless are still bringing more innocent children into poverty each year and costing taxpayers and the new children to pay for their sexual activities. The taxpayers are required to pay for abortions if the pregnant so want, but what about personal responsibility. For those who continue to create own financial irresponsibility, let’s pay to have the tubes tied for women and comparable surgery for homeless men until they are back on their feet and can assume caring for THEIR own responsibilities.
America tried forced sterilizations before. How’d that turn out… Solutions are needed but this isn’t it. If homelessness is the sterilization criteria, what happens when someone is forced out of a rental by a greedy landlord or gentrification. Will they then be required to be sterilized because they have no home … Smh
37% get free stuff now, wow! What’s next liberals? What you want for free next?
Free healthcare for all! Or at least the all of the minority residents.
That’s great, but who’s going to treat them? Most Doctors don’t accept Medicaid because the payment schedule is ridiculous. Who benefits though is the hospitals who see most of those people in their emergency rooms, which have become their Primary Care providers. There was a good reason NC didn’t expand Medicaid for all these years, so we now need to know who got paid off to suddenly underwrite this.
Yup, 37% of the residents in Guilford County are classified indigent, and will qualify for Medicaid.
There’s proof that our local government is doing a great job. Your tax dollars at work.