Special to Iredell Free News

The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services received final federal approval from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for the December 1 launch of Medicaid expansion.

CMS’s approval of the North Carolina State Plan Amendment is a required step forward in getting more than 600,000 people in North Carolina health care coverage. NCDHHS began the process in August and has been working closely with federal partners to be ready to go as soon as possible

“North Carolina is working hard to prepare for Medicaid expansion to start December 1, and this is an important step,” said Gov. Roy Cooper. “Expanding Medicaid is a monumental achievement that will improve the health and lives of hundreds of thousands of people while helping our health care providers and our economy.”

“We are grateful to our federal partners for their close partnership and this final approval enabling hundreds of thousands of people the health care coverage they have been waiting for,” added NCDHHS Secretary Kody H. Kinsley. “North Carolina is now well on our way to launch Medicaid expansion, and on December 1, about 300,000 people will automatically be enrolled in full coverage.”

LEARN MORE

For more information about the expanded eligibility for NC Medicaid, NCDHHS launched a new website with a toolkit of resources for organizations to spread the word to their communities.