After years of waiting, hospitals and health care providers in North Carolina received much-anticipated news on Thursday. Agreed to expand Medicaid.

North Carolina is one of 11 states that have not expanded Medicaid, something that state hospitals and their lobbying groups have opposed for years.

If adopted, the income limit would be raised from 41% to 138% of the federal poverty level. This could potentially reach an estimated 600,000 low-income North Carolinians for the program.

read more: Q&A: What You Need to Know About the Medicaid Extension Agreement Between the NC House and Senate

This could be “transformative” for access to health care in rural areas, better mental health care for veterans, and for working adults and their families, writes the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Resources. . press release.

Hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians are now stuck in the “Medicaid coverage gap.” That means they are too many to qualify for Medicaid, but too few to qualify for the subsidized market plan. A disproportionate proportion of adults in this group are people of color. Kaiser Family Foundation Report.

As a result, many of the state’s poorest residents are uninsured, which can lead to poor health.a 2021 Survey found that Medicaid expansion was associated with an approximately 4% reduction in annual adult deaths.

UNC Chief Clinical Officer Matt Ewend, Ph.D. “But it’s a terrible way of trying to treat people, it’s health care, not health.”

Thursday’s announcement may finally close that gap, but it’s unclear whether the expansion of Medicaid that lawmakers want to tie into the state budget will do.

A spokesperson for Novant Health in Charlotte said in a statement, “We know this is just one step in the process towards passage, but it is a crucial step and we are committed to helping everyone in North Carolina.” It’s a step closer to the expanded, equitable and accessible care that we need.” .

read more: Many opponents of Medicaid expansion in North Carolina have changed their minds, but not all

Donald Gintzig, president and CEO of WakeMed, said expanded insurance programs would expand access not only to treating illnesses, but also to preventive medicines that prevent illnesses from occurring in the first place.

Among other things, improving access to cancer screenings and primary care appointments could benefit the health of the entire state of North Carolina.

Dr. Tom Owens, senior vice president of the Duke University Health System, agrees.

“Every day we see patients who delay treatment because they don’t have adequate medical insurance or they don’t have health insurance,” he said. “They end up with serious consequences from diseases that could have been previously treated.”

Atrium Health in Charlotte declined to comment.

Physician practices need to consider whether and how they are insured to ensure patient populations are met, said Chip Baggett, senior vice president of the North Carolina Medical Society. said.

The expansion of Medicaid may allow these clinics to accept more low-income patients by ensuring that the cost of care provided is reimbursed.

“Doctor practice is a business like everything else. They have bills to pay, personnel, supplies and mortgages,” he said. “They are taking into account payer combinations.”

Representatives and senators said they would also use a federal reimbursement program known as HASP to increase Medicaid reimbursement rates, which hospitals say are much lower than medical bills.

Participating in the redemption program unlocks $8 billion in federal funding at no additional cost to the state. Owens said he was “baffled” that the state had not yet taken advantage of the program.

“We are competing for talent with other states that have access to this funding from the federal government,” he said. can be employed in the

Ultimately, hospital executives said they hoped Medicaid expansion would happen years ago, but it’s later than never.

“I wish this had happened sooner,” said Owens. “But I’m very happy that it’s happening now.”

Teddy Rosenbluth is the science and healthcare director of The News & Observer, funded by Duke Health and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund. N&O maintains full editorial control of the work.

Charlotte Observer reporter DJ Simmons contributed to this article.