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Gov. Roy Cooper Wants To Expand Medicaid; Republicans Vow To Fight

The News & Observer

By: David Ranii and Lynn Bonner

North Carolina’s Governor, Roy Cooper, wants to expand Medicaid, regardless of what Congress decides before Donald Trump takes office as President of the United States. Many Republican leaders are criticizing the fact that the governor intends to violate his oath of office.

Joan Alker, executive director of the Center for Children and Families at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy, said the state has time to expand its Medicaid program even with congressional Republicans eager to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

Medicaid state plan amendments are usually approved quickly, she said. Louisiana put its Medicaid expansion plan in place in just a few months.

Congress hasn’t detailed how it will repeal the ACA, Alker said. While a repeal is expected to include Medicaid expansion, she said, some in Congress are talking about delaying the impact for months or years.

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