A new article now up at nccivitas.org (after first being published by the Charlotte Observer) offers words of caution for Gov. Pat McCrory and his continued flirtation with Medicaid expansion. Some highlights from the article:
If he’s not careful, Gov. Pat McCrory may be on course to have a “Pence problem” in 2015.
In the days immediately following the mid-term elections, Gov. Pat McCrory insisted that – in spite of his party maintaining strong supermajority status in both houses of the General Assembly – North Carolina “is still very divided,” adding, “We’ve got to recognize where there’s differences and then try to have conversations.”
Among the conversations McCrory would like to have with his legislature is the topic of Medicaid reform and expansion. Expanding Medicaid into the states is a major component of Obamacare, but is something 23 states (including NC) have refused to do.
McCrory has indicated that his preference is to first “fix” the state’s Medicaid program, which has been plagued with cost overruns of hundreds of millions of dollars over the past few years, and then he’d be open to considering expansion.
Most recently, however, the Governor said in a radio interview that he may consider following the model put forth by Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, which simultaneously alters the Medicaid system while expanding it.
Pence originally sold the plan as a “conservative” alternative to Medicaid expansion in order to maintain support from his political base. But conservative groups saw through the label and called Pence’s bluff.
The bottom line: polling shows that the more voters learn about Medicaid expansion, the more they oppose it. Read the whole article here.
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