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2 <br /> Attachment 1 <br /> DRAFT 11.4.13 <br /> From: Penny Rich <br /> Orange County Board of Commissioners <br /> Resolution Urging the North Carolina General Assembly and Governor McCrory to <br /> reconsider its decision not to expand Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act <br /> to provide coverage for poor and low-income adults <br /> WHEREAS, an estimated 5.5 percent of Orange County residents (approximately 7,500 <br /> people) are uninsured; and <br /> WHEREAS,the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act(the "ACA") expands health <br /> insurance coverage for poor and low-income adults by raising the threshold for Medicaid <br /> eligibility to 138 percent of the poverty line($26,951 for a family of three); and <br /> WHEREAS,the federal government would pay almost the entire cost of expansion—93 <br /> percent over the first nine years (2014-2022) according to estimates prepared by the <br /> bipartisan Congressional Budget Office; and <br /> WHEREAS,the expansion of Medicaid would provide health insurance coverage to nearly <br /> 500,000 low-income residents of North Carolina and would save the State of North Carolina <br /> and the counties and municipalities therein substantial sums on uncompensated medical care <br /> for the uninsured; and <br /> WHEREAS,the expansion of Medicaid would bring billions in federal funds to the State <br /> and Orange County over a period of ten years and would create many new jobs in the health <br /> care sector in Orange County and elsewhere in the State; and <br /> WHEREAS,the 2012 Supreme Court Decision upholding the ACA modified the ACA and <br /> gave states the choice of whether to expand their Medicaid programs; and <br /> WHEREAS,the North Carolina General Assembly in February 2013 adopted legislation <br /> refusing to expand Medicaid coverage under the ACA; and <br /> WHEREAS,under the ACA residents of North Carolina who have incomes ranging from the <br /> poverty level up to four times that amount are eligible for federal tax credits to subsidize the <br /> purchase of private health insurance,but without the expansion of Medicaid many below the <br /> poverty level will be unable to receive the tax credits, Medicaid or any other assistance with <br /> health insurance coverage; and <br /> WHEREAS,health insurance coverage rates for employers and individuals purchasing <br /> private health insurance coverage in North Carolina will likely rise as hospitals and health <br /> care providers throughout the State absorb the unreimbursed costs of providing health care to <br /> the uninsured poor and low-income adults who would otherwise be eligible for Medicaid <br />