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As More Southerners Benefit From It, Medicaid Expansion Faces Congressional Death Threats
Jan 06, 2017
Date on which North Carolina's newly sworn-in Gov. Roy Cooper (D) announced he'd take executive action to expand Medicaid, the public health insurance program for the poor, under the Affordable Care Act: 1/4/2017
Year in which North Carolina's Republican-controlled legislature passed a law barring the executive branch from expanding Medicaid under ACA, complicating Cooper's efforts: 2013
Number of North Carolinians who could benefit from expansion of Medicaid, which in that state is currently available only to children, people with small children, or those who are pregnant, disabled, or in a nursing home: up to 600,000
Amount of investment Medicaid expansion would bring to North Carolina: $2 billion to $4 billion
Number of good-paying new jobs it would create: 20,000 to 40,000
By continuing to reject Medicaid expansion, which its residents are already paying taxes for, estimated amount of federal funds North Carolina would forfeit through 2020: $15 billion
According to a Harvard Medical School study, number of North Carolinians who are dying each year because of the state's refusal to expand Medicaid: 1,100
Total number of states that have expanded Medicaid to date: 32
Of those 32 states, number in the South: 4*
Month in which Louisiana, under newly elected Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards, expanded its Medicaid program under ACA: 7/1/2016
Number of Louisianans who had enrolled in the program by September: 305,000
Date on which House Republicans said Vice President-elect Mike Pence was uniquely qualified to dismantle the ACA: 1/4/2017
Year in which Pence, as Indiana's governor, expanded Medicaid in his state under the law: 2015
Number of Indiana residents who gained access to Medicaid as a result: 320,000
Date on which Donald Trump, then running for Republican presidential nomination, tweeted that he opposed cuts to Medicaid: 5/7/2015
Number of times Trump has changed his opinion on the ACA since announcing his presidential bid: 8
Date by which House Republicans say they hope to send President Trump an ACA repeal bill: 2/20/2017
Number of Americans who stand to lose health care coverage if ACA's Medicaid expansion provision is scrapped: 11 million
Should Congress repeal Medicaid expansion, amount West Virginia alone stands to lose in federal funding from 2019 through 2023: $5.8 billion
Proportion of Americans who support allowing states to expand Medicaid under ACA: 8 in 10
Proportion of Trump voters who do: 2/3
* Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana and West Virginia
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© 2023 Institute for Southern Studies
Sue Sturgis
Sue Sturgis is the Director and regular contributor to the Institute for Southern Study's online magazine, Facing South, with a focus on energy and environmental issues. She is a former staff writer for The News & Observer in Raleigh, North Carolina, and the Independent Weekly in Durham, North Carolina. Sue is the author or co-author of five Institute reports, including Faith in the Gulf (Aug/Sept 2008), Hurricane Katrina and the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement (January 2008) and Blueprint for Gulf Renewal (Aug/Sept 2007). Sue holds a Masters in Journalism from New York University.
Date on which North Carolina's newly sworn-in Gov. Roy Cooper (D) announced he'd take executive action to expand Medicaid, the public health insurance program for the poor, under the Affordable Care Act: 1/4/2017
Year in which North Carolina's Republican-controlled legislature passed a law barring the executive branch from expanding Medicaid under ACA, complicating Cooper's efforts: 2013
Number of North Carolinians who could benefit from expansion of Medicaid, which in that state is currently available only to children, people with small children, or those who are pregnant, disabled, or in a nursing home: up to 600,000
Amount of investment Medicaid expansion would bring to North Carolina: $2 billion to $4 billion
Number of good-paying new jobs it would create: 20,000 to 40,000
By continuing to reject Medicaid expansion, which its residents are already paying taxes for, estimated amount of federal funds North Carolina would forfeit through 2020: $15 billion
According to a Harvard Medical School study, number of North Carolinians who are dying each year because of the state's refusal to expand Medicaid: 1,100
Total number of states that have expanded Medicaid to date: 32
Of those 32 states, number in the South: 4*
Month in which Louisiana, under newly elected Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards, expanded its Medicaid program under ACA: 7/1/2016
Number of Louisianans who had enrolled in the program by September: 305,000
Date on which House Republicans said Vice President-elect Mike Pence was uniquely qualified to dismantle the ACA: 1/4/2017
Year in which Pence, as Indiana's governor, expanded Medicaid in his state under the law: 2015
Number of Indiana residents who gained access to Medicaid as a result: 320,000
Date on which Donald Trump, then running for Republican presidential nomination, tweeted that he opposed cuts to Medicaid: 5/7/2015
Number of times Trump has changed his opinion on the ACA since announcing his presidential bid: 8
Date by which House Republicans say they hope to send President Trump an ACA repeal bill: 2/20/2017
Number of Americans who stand to lose health care coverage if ACA's Medicaid expansion provision is scrapped: 11 million
Should Congress repeal Medicaid expansion, amount West Virginia alone stands to lose in federal funding from 2019 through 2023: $5.8 billion
Proportion of Americans who support allowing states to expand Medicaid under ACA: 8 in 10
Proportion of Trump voters who do: 2/3
* Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana and West Virginia
Sue Sturgis
Sue Sturgis is the Director and regular contributor to the Institute for Southern Study's online magazine, Facing South, with a focus on energy and environmental issues. She is a former staff writer for The News & Observer in Raleigh, North Carolina, and the Independent Weekly in Durham, North Carolina. Sue is the author or co-author of five Institute reports, including Faith in the Gulf (Aug/Sept 2008), Hurricane Katrina and the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement (January 2008) and Blueprint for Gulf Renewal (Aug/Sept 2007). Sue holds a Masters in Journalism from New York University.
Date on which North Carolina's newly sworn-in Gov. Roy Cooper (D) announced he'd take executive action to expand Medicaid, the public health insurance program for the poor, under the Affordable Care Act: 1/4/2017
Year in which North Carolina's Republican-controlled legislature passed a law barring the executive branch from expanding Medicaid under ACA, complicating Cooper's efforts: 2013
Number of North Carolinians who could benefit from expansion of Medicaid, which in that state is currently available only to children, people with small children, or those who are pregnant, disabled, or in a nursing home: up to 600,000
Amount of investment Medicaid expansion would bring to North Carolina: $2 billion to $4 billion
Number of good-paying new jobs it would create: 20,000 to 40,000
By continuing to reject Medicaid expansion, which its residents are already paying taxes for, estimated amount of federal funds North Carolina would forfeit through 2020: $15 billion
According to a Harvard Medical School study, number of North Carolinians who are dying each year because of the state's refusal to expand Medicaid: 1,100
Total number of states that have expanded Medicaid to date: 32
Of those 32 states, number in the South: 4*
Month in which Louisiana, under newly elected Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards, expanded its Medicaid program under ACA: 7/1/2016
Number of Louisianans who had enrolled in the program by September: 305,000
Date on which House Republicans said Vice President-elect Mike Pence was uniquely qualified to dismantle the ACA: 1/4/2017
Year in which Pence, as Indiana's governor, expanded Medicaid in his state under the law: 2015
Number of Indiana residents who gained access to Medicaid as a result: 320,000
Date on which Donald Trump, then running for Republican presidential nomination, tweeted that he opposed cuts to Medicaid: 5/7/2015
Number of times Trump has changed his opinion on the ACA since announcing his presidential bid: 8
Date by which House Republicans say they hope to send President Trump an ACA repeal bill: 2/20/2017
Number of Americans who stand to lose health care coverage if ACA's Medicaid expansion provision is scrapped: 11 million
Should Congress repeal Medicaid expansion, amount West Virginia alone stands to lose in federal funding from 2019 through 2023: $5.8 billion
Proportion of Americans who support allowing states to expand Medicaid under ACA: 8 in 10
Proportion of Trump voters who do: 2/3
* Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana and West Virginia
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