N.C. Medicaid expansion reaches 650,000 enrollees as program faces threat of federal cuts

Gov. Josh Stein announced Wednesday that 650,000 newly eligible North Carolinians have gained access to health care through Medicaid expansion.

The announcement comes less than a year and a half after the state increased access to the program.

Rebecca Cerese, a health policy advocate with the North Carolina Justice Center, says a combination of community advocates and the state finding innovative ways to reach people helped produce results.

"It has impacted all 100 counties, and in particular our rural counties, which you know in some cases some of our counties have over 50% of the population that are now enrolled in Medicaid," she says.

But as House Republicans in Congress look for federal cuts to fund extended tax breaks it's possible the program could take a hit.

Cerese says reductions would be troubling and affect services.

"We have a lot of people that rely on Medicaid for health coverage in the state and so any kind of cuts or changes to the program would be detrimental and catastrophic to our state," she says.

As of April, Guilford County has nearly 40,000 enrollees while Forsyth County has more than 24,000.