When the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was passed, one of its major components was expanding Medicaid coverage. The idea was that by expanding Medicaid coverage and providing subsidies to those who made too much to qualify for Medicaid, nearly all Americans would have some form of health insurance.
When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on the constitutionality of the ACA, however, states were not required to expand Medicaid coverage. As a result, several states, including North Carolina, decided not to expand Medicaid coverage. That decision was based on the premise that the federal government, over time, would renege on the amount of money it would pay to cover Medicaid expansion and state taxpayers would be left to pay the bill. Proponents of expanding Medicaid countered that state residents – through their federal taxes – are already paying for the expansion in other states and that expansion would create thousands of jobs, increase tax revenues and provide health insurance for nearly 500,000 state residents.
For several years, any attempt to expand Medicaid coverage in this state was easily squashed. Now, however, there seems to be a growing consensus that Medicaid should be expanded. Support from expansion is coming from multiple sectors for good reason.
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