About 375,000 uninsured NC adults would be eligible for coverage under proposal

About 375,000 uninsured residents would be eligible for health insurance under a plan four House Republicans filed last week to expand Medicaid.

The N.C. Institute of Medicine analyzed the bill sponsored by Rep. Donny Lambeth of Winston-Salem and three other Republicans, as well as a separate Medicaid expansion bill filed by Senate Democrats, and Gov. Roy Cooper’s expansion proposal.

Under the House bill, adults with incomes up to 133 percent of poverty level - less than $16,000 for a single person - would be eligible to buy Medicaid coverage, paying premiums equal to 2 percent of their household income. Beneficiaries would be required to work or be looking for work, though some exemptions would be allowed. An assessment on hospitals would be used to pay the state’s costs.

Separately, the N.C. Community Health Center Association on Friday said it supports the House bill.

The state’s economy is growing, but many of the jobs being added are in low-wage services and the “gig-economy,” the association said. “People in these jobs do not have the opportunity for coverage,” the association wrote.

This story was originally published April 14, 2017 at 4:37 PM with the headline "About 375,000 uninsured NC adults would be eligible for coverage under proposal."