Statehouse Republicans File Medicaid Expansion Bill

House Republicans have filed a bill to extend federal health benefits for poor, disabled, and elderly North Carolinians.

Thirty-one states have already expanded Medicaid since the Affordable Care Act was passed. In many others, Republican leaders have been skeptical of doing so.

But last week, four Republicans in the Statehouse made a move toward expansion, or something like it. Their new bill would create a program called “Carolina Cares,” which is based on a health plan that former Gov. Mike Pence introduced in Indiana.

Under the measure, people making less than 133 percent of the federal poverty level would qualify for the program. They would also pay annual premiums and, in most cases, would have to be working.

The bill is co-sponsored by Winston-Salem Representative Donny Lambeth, among others.

According to the News & Observer, if the bill becomes law, between 300,000 and 500,000 people could become eligible for coverage.