On Saturday afternoon, a federal judge issued an immediate block on Roy Coopers proposed medicaid expansion plan for North Carolina.
The block is now in place for two weeks, deferring any possible expansion until after the Trump Administration is in place.
Under the Affordable Care Act, states are allowed to expand Medicaid with the federal government picking up 100 percent of the costs at first, then slightly declining until 2020, when the government would thereafter pay 90 percent of the costs.
Cooper’s expansion request would provide coverage to over 500,000 additional low income North Carolinians.
The governor is trying to get North Carolina’s expansion rushed through, since it would be unlikely if congress and President-elect Donald Trump would be able to repeal the law and make changes to health care funding if the expansion were to pass.
NC GOP leaders protest that the federal government isn’t allowed to grant Cooper’s request since it would violate federal laws, and a 2013 state law that prevents any expanded health coverage without NC General Assembly approval, which Cooper lacks.
“The governor’s application to expand Medicaid is no more a valid representation of the state’s interest than would be an application submitted by the North Carolina Supreme Court or even a citizen of Idaho,” GOP attorneys wrote Saturday.
Under the expansion, North Carolina would be required to provide a financial match to receive the federal Medicaid funds. Cooper wants the match could come from hospitals, but the lawsuit says expansion could require the state to be responsible for over $500 million through 2021.
What do you think about the proposed medicaid expansion?