NC's New Dem Governor Wants To Defy GOP Lawmakers And Expand Medicaid

[DonViejo]

Source: Talking Points Memo


By CAITLIN MACNEAL Published JANUARY 4, 2017, 2:35 PM EDT

Just a few days after taking office, Democratic North Carolina Gov. Rory Cooper on Wednesday said that he will seek to expand Medicaid even though a 2013 state law bars him from doing so, the News and Observer reported.

While speaking at an economic forum in Durham, Cooper said he would file a request for the federal government to change the state's Medicaid plan by Friday, according to the News and Observer.

"It is common sense for North Carolina to keep its options open as we go into this new health care arena under a Trump presidency," Cooper said, according to the Triangle Business Journal. "I believe that North Carolina needs to move forward with this plan, but in order for it to be successful, we have to have some cooperation – and, specifically, we have to make sure that North Carolina meets its match."

Cooper plans to push for Medicaid expansion despite a law passed by a Republican-led legislature and enacted in 2013 that bars the governor from expanding the program in the state. He said Wednesday that law infringes on "core executive functions" and said he hoped the legislature would support his effort to expand Medicaid.

Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/roy-cooper-expand-medicaid-despite-nc-law

[Coolest Ranger]

1. If he pulls this off

he'll be the man and I can move from medicare to mediaid

[elmac]

2. MI, AZ and a few other other fascist controlled states did it

I hope he can get it, it actually saves states a tons of money while keeping people healthy enough to work, pay taxes.

[bucolic_frolic]

3. Cooper is a Godsend

If he stands up straight and publicly the way Obama has on so many issues

then Cooper will remind the nation of what was, what is being lost, what we
can be. Republicans will think him a freak show. Little do they know ...

[hibbing]

4. Wow, a Democratic Party member actually stands up for the ACA? n/t

[BumRushDaShow]

5. Gov. Tom Wolf (D) did that here in PA when he was elected in 2014

after his predecessor Cor-butt (R) refused to do a typical expansion of Medicaid with no strings attached.

Gov. Tom Wolf pulling the plug on 'Healthy PA' in favor of full Medicaid expansion
Posted By Charlie Deitch on Mon, Feb 9, 2015 at 2:16 PM

Fulfilling another campaign promise, Pa. Gov. Tom Wolf is taking the first steps in jettisoning former Gov. Tom Corbett's Healthy PA health-care plan in favor of a full, traditional Medicaid expansion, the governor's office announced a short time ago.

“Today is the first step toward simplifying a complicated process and ensuring hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians have greater access to the health insurance they need,” said Gov. Wolf in a statement. “Our approach will alleviate confusion, remove unnecessary red tape, and streamline the system so that people can see a doctor when they are sick and health-care professionals have more time to concentrate on providing quality care.”

http://www.pghcitypaper.com/Blogh/archives/2015/02/09/gov-tom-wolf-pulling-the-plug-on-healthy-pa-in-favor-of-full-medicaid-expansion

May 2, 2016
One year in, Pennsylvania Medicaid expansion prompts celebration and new outreach

By Elana Gordon


[font color="red"]One year after Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf switched the state over to a traditional Medicaid expansion, some 625,000 residents have enrolled. It marks a dramatic reduction in the state's uninsured population, cutting the percentage nearly in half from 14 percent, according to state estimates.[/font] Area health leaders are thrilled. "It's transformed Pennsylvania, and what it means for folks in Pennsylvania in terms of their health care," said state Human Services Secretary Ted Dallas during a stop at Mount Carmel Baptist Church in West Philadelphia Friday.

<...>

Some background

Technically, Medicaid eligibility in Pennsylvania expanded more than a year ago, in January of 2015, when then Republican Gov. Tom Corbett's 'Healthy PA' plan kicked in.

It was an executive move, with the Republican-led statehouse rejecting legislation for an expansion. Corbett, meanwhile, faced sharp criticism from traditional expansion proponents because his plan included different categories of coverage, depending on an enrollee's income and health status.

When Gov. Wolf took office, he dismantled Health PA and moved ahead with a traditional expansion.

<...>

http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/local/healthscience/93285-one-year-in-pennsylvania-medicaid-expansion-prompts-celebration-and-new-outreach

[hibbing]

6. Interesting

Thanks for this, it is interesting. Just think where we would be if the majority of states were Democratically controlled.

Peace

[BumRushDaShow]

7. Ain't that the truth!

[Cha]

8. Good on Gov Roy Cooper!

Thanks Don