600K-plus expected to qualify for Medicaid in NC with Friday expansion

NORTH CAROLINA — Hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians will be added to Medicaid rolls this week.

More than 600,000 people are expected to qualify, and about half of them will be automatically enrolled on Friday. That means they’ll be able to go to the doctor, get prescriptions, and more with little to no out-of-pocket expenses.

In North Carolina, rural residents are 40% more likely to be uninsured and eligible for Medicaid expansion, and 11 rural hospitals have closed in North Carolina since 2005.

PREVIOUS STORIES:

• Gov. Cooper signs Medicaid expansion bill into law
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The state currently has more than 2.8 million Medicaid recipients. With the program’s expansion, people ages 19-64 with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty level — about $20,000 for one person or $34,000 for a family of three — can also qualify, the Associated Press reports.

To learn if you are eligible for Medicaid, click here for information on the state’s website.

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