After a decade of delay, Medicaid expansion is official in North Carolina. Here’s a guide on who can apply and how to do it most easily.
President Biden’s 2021 American Rescue Plan provided a $1.7 billion “signing bonus” to North Carolina to expand Medicaid, which Gov. Roy Cooper described as "a major part of our successful effort to finally get Medicaid expansion."
In North Carolina, $8.4 billion in funding has been announced, with over 300 specific infrastructure projects identified for funding. Nearly $6 billion will go to transit upgrades, and another $469 million for clean water and water infrastructure.
The provision, signed into law by President Biden, will significantly lower out-of-pocket drug costs for many of the nearly 1.7 million North Carolina seniors enrolled in Medicare Part D coverage, starting in 2026.
Starting in 2026, the prices for these drugs will decrease for up to nine million seniors, thanks to a provision in President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act that allows Medicare to negotiate the prices for these drugs directly with the manufacturers.
The law ensured that 135,000 North Carolinians were able to keep their health insurance, reduced the cost of insulin for nearly 57,000 seniors, and incentivized several manufacturers to invest in the state and create more clean energy jobs.
Short-term plans offer limited coverage, can deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions, and trick consumers into buying products that provide “little or no coverage when they need it most."
House Republicans’ latest attack on the Inflation Reduction Act comes in the form of the Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023, which would repeal or shorten clean energy and manufacturing incentives.
Biden’s plan would increase the Medicare tax rate on Americans earning above $400,000 from 3.8% to 5% to help keep Medicare solvent into the 2050s. No one earning under $400,000 a year would pay a dime more in taxes, under Biden’s plan.
The Biden administration announced recently that the U.S. will no longer be in a COVID-19 emergency as of May 11, which means that an estimated five to 14 million Americans could lose access to health insurance via Medicaid.
| August 17, 2024
| August 17, 2024
| August 15, 2024
| August 10, 2024
| August 10, 2024
| August 7, 2024
