New Medicaid expansion pitch surfaces in N. Carolina House

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Republicans in the North Carolina General Assembly apparently aren’t through talking this legislative session about a path toward expanding Medicaid to hundreds of thousands of additional low-income adults.

A House committee scheduled debate Thursday on a new measure that would direct the state health department to develop a “Medicaid Modernization Plan” that would include covering individuals targeted by the 2010 Affordable Care Act. The plan would be turned in by mid-December and couldn’t be implemented without formal legislative votes approving it.

The GOP-controlled Senate already passed a health care-access measure in early June that contained expansion and other reforms. House Speaker Tim Moore has said there’s no appetite in his chamber to pass that omnibus measure.

Senate leader Phil Berger has wanted expansion to be part of ongoing state budget negotiations. Berger said late Wednesday it’s time for action on the idea — not another study like House Republicans are pitching.

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.