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NC Governor Cooper Celebrates Nearly 600,000 Enrolled in Medicaid Expansion
Raleigh -- December 4, 2024: Press Release: North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper's Office: Today, Governor Roy Cooper and North Carolina Health and Human Services Secretary Kody H. Kinsley celebrated the one-year anniversary of Medicaid expansion in North Carolina by announcing that nearly 600,000 North Carolinians, many of whom live in rural counties, have enrolled.
The Governor and Secretary spoke at ECU Health in Greenville and were joined by ECU Health CEO Dr. Mike Waldrum, Dr. Karen Coward and several beneficiaries who have been able to get care thanks to Medicaid expansion. This is the first in a series of events highlighting the Governor's major accomplishments and progress made for North Carolina during his time in office.
“For the last eight years, we’ve worked hard to lead our state with one healthcare innovation after another that will leave lasting impacts on generations of North Carolinians to come,” said Governor Roy Cooper. “Through expanding Medicaid that will extend health care coverage to almost 600,000 people, relieving more than $4 billion in medical debt for two million North Carolinians and charting a new way forward in mental health care, we have delivered on our promise of a healthier North Carolina.”
“In the last year, hundreds of thousands of people have finally been able to afford going to the doctor, a dentist, get glasses, and fill their prescriptions,” said NCDHHS Secretary Kody Kinsley. “And most of all, they’ve had the peace of mind that a health emergency won’t bankrupt them and their families — something to be grateful for this holiday season.”
“I am honored to recognize this moment alongside the Governor, the Secretary and other leaders and community members celebrating Medicaid expansion in North Carolina. More than 80,000 people here in rural eastern North Carolina benefit from this coverage to live healthier lives,” said Dr. Michael Waldrum, chief executive officer of ECU Health and dean of the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University.
“Expanding access to primary care has immense positive impacts to the communities we serve, and it is absolutely vital to ECU Health's efforts to improve the health and well-being of rural eastern North Carolina.”
“Medicaid expansion has been transformative for our rural communities, breaking down financial barriers that once kept so many from accessing essential care,” said Dr. Karen Coward, physician, ECU Health. “As a physician, I have experienced firsthand patients who previously relied on emergency departments for crisis care that are now establishing relationships with primary care providers, keeping appointments and managing chronic conditions with the medications and referrals they need. I am deeply grateful to our state leaders who advocated for Medicaid expansion, allowing more people in our region and across the state to get the care they need, when they need it.”
After Governor Cooper took office, he set out a mission statement to build a North Carolina where people were better educated, healthier, and had more money in their pockets to live lives of purpose and abundance. Under the Governor’s leadership, North Carolina has made tremendous progress on improving the health of its people including by expanding Medicaid, relieving medical debt and charting new and innovative ways to deliver care to people.
The Governor has ushered in a new era of health care in North Carolina with major accomplishments, including the following achievements.
EXPANDED MEDICAID AND EXTENDED HEALTH CARE COVERAGE TO ALMOST 600,000 PEOPLE
Governor Cooper never stopped fighting for Medicaid expansion. After a decade of work, Medicaid expansion launched in North Carolina on December 1, 2023. Thanks to months of planning prior to launch, the state was able immediately to enroll nearly 300,000 people who had been receiving Medicaid Family Planning benefits. At the time of launch, it was estimated that it would take two years to enroll 600,000 newly eligible individuals and families into Medicaid. Thanks to Governor Cooper, Secretary Kinsley, state partners, community-based organizations, local advocates and other trusted messengers, North Carolina has reached nearly 600,000 enrolled in just one year, half the time that was projected.
In the past year since Medicaid expansion launched in North Carolina:
3.8 million prescriptions were filled by Medicaid expansion enrollees for heart health, diabetes, seizures and other illnesses.
$58 million in claims for dental services have been covered by Medicaid for the expansion population.
210,953+ members of rural communities, or more than one in three of all newly eligible people, gained access to health coverage through Medicaid.
$58 million in claims for dental services have been covered by Medicaid for the expansion population.
210,953+ members of rural communities, or more than one in three of all newly eligible people, gained access to health coverage through Medicaid.
RELIEVED $4 BILLION IN BURDENSOME MEDICAL DEBT FOR 2 MILLION LOW- AND MIDDLE-INCOME NORTH CAROLINIANS
After enacting Medicaid expansion, it became clear that many North Carolinians were still suffering under the burden of medical debt. Governor Cooper and NCDHHS worked with hospitals and other stakeholders to create a first-of-its-kind medical debt relief program that will relieve $4 billion in existing medical debt for nearly two million of low and middle-income North Carolinians and ease the burden of medical debt in the future.
The program offers enhanced Medicaid payments from the federal government in exchange for relieving certain medical debt. All of the state’s 99 eligible hospitals have signed on to the state’s innovative plan, and states across the country can now look to North Carolina for a roadmap on how to help.
SECURED OVER $835 MILLION FOR A NEW VISION OF MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT AND RESOURCES
During his two terms, Governor Cooper has prioritized investing in mental health resources and support. Through Medicaid expansion, the Governor and NCDHHS secured a transformative $835 million investment in mental and behavioral health to make it possible for more North Carolinians to receive care when and where they need it.
This monumental investment will help ensure that people’s behavioral health needs are better met by funding services for people experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis, helping individuals with behavioral health conditions avoid incarceration, helping children with complex needs and supports for families and strengthening the behavioral health workforce.
CREATED THE HEALTHY OPPORTUNITIES PILOTS PROGRAM TO SUPPORT AND INVEST IN NON-MEDICAL SUPPORT FOR HIGH-NEEDS NORTH CAROLINIANS ON MEDICAID
In 2022, Governor Cooper and NCDHHS launched the Healthy Opportunities Pilots, a first-in-the-nation effort to recognize that health doesn’t just happen at the doctor’s office or in a hospital. The program invests in non-medical support related to housing, food, transportation and more for high-needs Medicaid recipients.
Early findings on this innovative program show that it works by saving money and keeping people healthier. Participants saw decreased rates of hospitalization and significantly lower healthcare spending. Two years into the pilot, the state is spending about $85 less in medical costs per beneficiary per month.
Image: WNcTimes
