Cooper submitted the expansion proposal to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in Washington, D.C., saying it will create jobs and support state hospitals.
Republicans condemned the move and urged federal regulators to reject the proposal. U.S. Rep. Robert Pittenger, R-N.C., and Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., sent a letter to federal regulators opposing the expansion.
“(It) would only further frustrate patients who have clearly rejected President (Barack) Obama’s healthcare takeover,” Pittenger stated.
Medicaid expansion
Thirty-one states and Washington, D.C. have expanded their Medicaid coverage since the Affordable Care Act increased eligibility for the program in 2010 — but North Carolina has yet to do so.
Those states pay 5 percent of the annual costs until 2020, which would be up to $600 million per year in North Carolina. Federal funds cover the rest, totaling over $70 billion nationwide every year, according to Cooper.
“Right now, North Carolina tax dollars are going to Washington, where they are being redistributed to states that have expanded Medicaid,” Cooper said in the statement.
Ciara Zachary, a political analyst from the N.C. Justice Center, said expansion will help reach workers in the “coverage gap” who don’t have access to healthcare.