McCrory's Medicaid dance

by Chris Fitzsimon, NC Policy Watch and NC SPIN panelist, February 6, 2015.

You might have missed it in Governor Pat McCrory’s 80-minute-long State of the State speech, but the governor almost talked about Medicaid expansion. Here is the relevant paragraph from a transcript of the speech.

We are exploring North Carolina-based options that will help those who can’t help themselves, and encourage those who can. If we bring a proposal to cover the uninsured, it will protect North Carolina taxpayers. And any plan will require personal and financial responsibility from those who would be covered. I will only recommend a North Carolina – not a Washington – plan, so that we can put patients first!

Exclamation point aside, that sounds a lot like Medicaid expansion that dozens of other states, many with Republican governors, have pursued under the Affordable Care Act to provide health care coverage for millions of people. In North Carolina, as many as half a million low-income adults could gain coverage under expansion, not to mention the thousands of jobs that would be created and the many struggling rural hospitals that would benefit.

McCrory talked a little in his speech about Medicaid reform, but apparently decided not to mention Medicaid specifically when talking about the possibility of expanding coverage to help the uninsured.

Secretary of Health and Human Services Aldona Wos was equally cryptic after the speech, saying what the administration was considering was not Medicaid expansion, but “something different…providing health care to the uninsured – or an opportunity for that.”

In other words, Medicaid expansion. There’s an obvious reason that McCrory, who likes to think of himself as plainspoken, isn’t plainspoken about his intentions. He’s worried about the reaction from legislative leaders, who continue to oppose Medicaid expansion as much out of disdain for President Obama than for any rational reasons.

But McCrory’s not going to change their minds by tip-toeing around the name of what he wants to do. He is only going to pass Medicaid expansion in any form by making the case for it clearly and forcefully to the people of North Carolina as well as members of the General Assembly.

It’s an easy case to make. It would help create jobs, save hospitals, help hundreds of thousands of families, and most importantly it will save people’s lives.

In many ways, it is the defining issue of this legislative session.  If and when McCrory finally realizes that, he needs to use all the powers of his office to make it happen. Shying away from talking about it isn’t going to work.

He is the governor after all. He needs to act like it.

- See more at: http://www.ncpolicywatch.com/2015/02/06/the-follies-223/#sthash.76xW97zr.dpuf