Editorial: Expanding Medicaid can actually cut state-funded spending
Thursday, June 17, 2021 -- Expanding access to health care to more than a half-million North Carolinians is the right thing to do. Not having to spend a half-billion dollars in state funds to do it makes it even more urgent.
Posted — UpdatedNew federal laws mean North Carolina taxpayers will save $500 million by expanding Medicaid. Is there a reason to be against that?
Expanding access to health care to more than a half-million North Carolinians is the right thing to do. Not having to spend a half-billion dollars in state funds to do it makes it even more urgent.
Even with added spending of about $400 million needed for Medicaid expansion (which the state’s hospitals and other healthcare providers have offered to help shoulder) North Carolina would still be ahead of the game by as much as $500 million.
This federal law, passed by Republicans and Democrats in Congress, is a real deal for North Carolina taxpayers.
Gaining half-a-billion dollars – even amid the budget surpluses the state now enjoys – is significant. It offers the opportunity to invest in other critical needs that have for too long gone unmet – particularly complying with the state’s constitutional guarantee to provide every child in the state with access to a quality education.
Imagine, providing health care to tens of thousands of hard-working North Carolinians and saving state taxpayers’ millions in the process!
No gimmicks, no gotcha.
Expand Medicaid now and save state tax dollars.
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