Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
12 <br /> <br /> <br />VOTE: UNANIMOUS <br /> <br />Commissioner McKee asked if there is an effort being made to make this a national <br />holiday. <br />James Williams said yes, but it will take additional steps by local entities to push this <br />forward to the next level. <br />Commissioner McKee asked if the Board could receive updates regarding this topic. <br />Commissioner Price said the Fredrick Douglas Committee is planning events for next <br />year for the bicentennial celebration. <br /> <br />d. Resolution of Support for a Referendum on the Expansion of Medicaid in North <br />Carolina <br />The Board considered voting to approve a Resolution of Support for a Referendum on <br />the Expansion of Medicaid in North Carolina. <br />Commissioner Rich reviewed the background information. <br /> <br />BACKGROUND: <br />At its November 20, 2017 regular meeting, the Board heard a petition requesting that the Board <br />consider a resolution supporting a statewide referendum on the expansion of Medicaid. The <br />State of Maine recently conducted a referendum on this topic. The attached draft resolution <br />recommends the following referendum question - “Shall the State of North Carolina expand <br />Medicaid to provide healthcare coverage for qualified adults under age 65 with incomes at or <br />below 138% of the federal poverty level?” The table below details income figures based on the <br />138% federal poverty level (FPL) referenced in the proposed referendum question. <br /> <br />Commissioner Rich read the resolution: <br /> <br />RESOLUTION OF SUPPORT FOR A REFERENDUM ON THE EXPANSION OF MEDICAID IN <br />NORTH CAROLINA <br /> <br />WHEREAS, pursuant to the terms of the Affordable Care Act and rulings by the United States <br />Supreme Court the states may elect to expand Medicaid coverage to provide healthcare <br />coverage to low income residents in a coverage gap who don’t otherwise qualify for Affordable <br />Care Act subsidies or traditional Medicaid; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, to date, North Carolina has declined to join the majority of states in expanding <br />Medicaid eligibility for low income residents; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation issue brief authored by Rachel Garfield <br />and Anthony Damico more than 200,000 low income North Carolinians, as of 2016, who are in <br />the coverage gap and cannot obtain healthcare would be eligible for coverage if Medicaid were <br />expanded in the state; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, the majority of those North Carolinians in the coverage gap consist of people from <br />working poor families meaning “either they or a family member is employed but still living below <br />the poverty line;” and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, it is incumbent upon the North Carolina General Assembly ensure adequate <br />access to healthcare exists for all North Carolinians, not just those who can afford to pay for it;