5—number of days since Montana Governor Steve Bullock signed legislation that expanded Medicaid in his state (“Montana Gov signs Medicaid expansion into law,” Associated Press, April 29, 2015)
30—number of states, including the District of Columbia, that have now expanded Medicaid under provisions of the Affordable Care Act (“Factsheet: Expanding Medicaid in North Carolina, N.C. Justice Center, March 2015)
The Fitzsimon File
by Chris Fitzsmon
5—number of states currently planning and discussing expanding Medicaid (Ibid)
500,000—number of low-income people in North Carolina who would receive health care coverage if Medicaid was expanded (Ibid)
2 billion—amount in dollars of federal funding that would flow to North Carolina every year if Medicaid was expanded (Ibid)
39.6 billion—amount in total dollars that North Carolina is forfeiting in federal funding over the next 10 years by not expanding Medicaid (“What Is the Result of States Not Expanding Medicaid?,” Urban Institute and Robert Wood Foundation, August 2014)
318 million—amount in dollars North Carolina would save between 2016 and 2020 if Medicaid was expanded (Ibid)
27,444—number of people in North Carolina with diabetes who are not getting their needed medications because of the refusal of federal funding that would come with the expansion of Medicaid (“Factsheet: Expanding Medicaid in North Carolina, N.C. Justice Center, March 2015)
40,000—number of women in North Carolina not getting recommended preventive health screenings because of the refusal of federal funding that would come with the expansion of Medicaid (Ibid)
14,776—number of families receiving catastrophic medical bills because of the refusal of federal funding that would come with the expansion of Medicaid (Ibid)
33—percentage decline in uninsured and charity hospital admissions in states that have expanded Medicaid (Ibid)
307—number of days since Vidant Pungo Hopsital in Belhaven, NC closed (“Even With Pungo Hospital Closed, Town Looks At Options, WITN-TV, July 1, 2014)
4—number of hospitals in Georgia that have closed because of that state’s decision not to expand Medicaid (“Factsheet: Expanding Medicaid in North Carolina, N.C. Justice Center, March 2015)
11.3 billion—amount in dollars that hospitals in North Carolina are losing in federal funding from 2013-2022 that was intended to offset their loss of funding for Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement (“What Is the Result of States Not Expanding Medicaid?,” Urban Institute and Robert Wood Foundation, August 2014).
Chris Fitzsimon is the founder and director of NC Policy Watch — a progressive public policy think tank that is a special project of the N.C. Justice Center.
Discussion