MEDIA RELEASE: “Medicaid Matters” series highlights impact of program on NC’s most vulnerable

Proposals from Congress threaten very existence of CHIP, Medicaid

RALEIGH (March 21, 2017)—Both Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) have made tremendous gains in North Carolina by providing direct support to the state’s most vulnerable residents, making it all the more concerning that recent proposals from Congress threaten the very existence of these programs.

Medicaid Matters: Protect and Expand NC Health Care, a new series from the NC Justice Center, illustrates how Medicaid and CHIP affect the health and well-being of children, older adults, people with disabilities, caregivers, as well as the state budget.

Despite bipartisan support for CHIP and the great coverage gains seen in states that enacted Medicaid expansion, Medicaid and CHIP are both under attack in Congress. The most recent plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act would also fundamentally restructure Medicaid. It would decrease the federal government’s commitment to states by changing the Medicaid funding structure to either a block grant or per capita cap, in turn directly impacting the effectiveness of CHIP.

“Ultimately, restructuring Medicaid in this way would undermine the fundamental goal of the program: to provide health care to the most vulnerable,” said Ciara Zachary, policy analyst with the Health Advocacy Project and chief author of the series. “It is reckless and irresponsible to cut Medicaid’s funding and irrevocably limit its capacity as a safety net to our residents in their times of need.”

The series, which has covered the following topics so far, will be updated weekly through early April.

• MEDICAID MATTERS to North Carolina’s Most Vulnerable.
• MEDICAID MATTERS for North Carolina’s Children’s Healthy Development. One service at risk of cuts is Early and Periodic, Screening, Diagnostic and Treatment (EPSDT), a cornerstone of Medicaid’s capacity to ensure children living in poverty are healthy and are able to reach their full potential.
• MEDICAID MATTERS for North Carolina’s revenue, state budget, and economic well-being. Medicaid directly impacts our state’s economy – the state would face a shortfall of at least $4.4 billion over the next 10 years if lawmakers restructure Medicaid.

For more information, visit www.keepNCcovered.org.

Click here for a detailed chartbook on the impact of Medicaid in North Carolina. 

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Ciara Zachary, ciara@ncjustice.org, 919.856.2568; Julia Hawes, julia@ncjustice.org, 919.863.2406.