RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A nonpartisan group says North Carolina should expand the Medicaid program because it would provide health insurance coverage to 500,000 people, most of whom would remain uninsured without the expansion.
The North Carolina Institute of Medicine released a report Friday recommending expanding the program under the federal Affordable Care Act.
Republicans in the state legislature are moving to block the expansion. Republican Gov. Pat McCrory says he's withholding judgment on the issue.
But the North Carolina group says providing health care coverage will help people gain access to care they need. The group says that will help improve their overall health and also save the state $65 million over the next eight years.
The group says the expansion would create 25,000 new jobs by 2016.
