More than 314,000 North Carolinians have enrolled in Medicaid since the state expanded eligibility in December, with many already benefitting from increased access to care.
State officials estimated that Medicaid expansion would give around 600,000 North Carolinians access to healthcare coverage. Data released Monday shows about half of that number have enrolled as of Jan. 12.
Nick Riggs directs NC Navigator Consortium, a federally funded, statewide network of health insurance navigators. He says so far the rollout has been fairly smooth.
"We are very grateful that we have seen very quick turnarounds from applications to effective coverage," he says. "And we know in some cases that's been as a little as a day for some folks."
According to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Medicaid covered more than 150,000 prescriptions and over $2.5 million in claims for dental services since Dec. 1.
Riggs says it will take time, effort and coordination to continue to spread the word on expansion to vulnerable populations and hard-to-reach areas.