GOP lawmakers in NC propose Medicaid expansion: 5 things to know

Republican legislators floated legislation to expand North Carolina's Medicaid program, Winston-Salem Journal reports.

Here are five things to know about the proposal.

1. State Rep. Donny Lambeth, R-Forsyth, authored the bill. He and three other Republican sponsors filed the bill April 6.

2. House Bill 662, titled "Carolina Cares," would expand Medicaid to adults with incomes below 133 percent of the federal poverty level. However, the Carolina Cares program would require participants to pay a monthly premium representing 2 percent of their income. In addition, participants would be required to be employed or "engage in activities to promote employment," unless they fall into specific exemptions outlined in the legislation.

3. The sponsoring lawmakers said the bill "addresses the needs of citizens of North Carolina committed to a healthy lifestyle who are ineligible for Medicaid due to their income levels but who are otherwise unable to afford health insurance," according to HB662.

4. However, North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, said he opposed the Medicaid expansion, in part because "the best thing to do for the working poor is to continue to grow the economy," reports The News & Observer.

5. The bill states the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services should submit a design proposal for the program to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Medicaid and NC Health Choice no later than Jan. 1, should the measure pass North Carolina's General Assembly.   

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