North Carolina House of Representatives Overwhelmingly Approves Medicaid Expansion, Making Health Insurance Available to 600,000 Low-Income Residents

North Carolina is set to become the 40th state to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, after the state House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a bill on Thursday morning. The bill, which was backed by the state’s Democratic governor, Roy Cooper, a longtime expansion advocate, will make health insurance available to roughly 600,000 additional low-income residents.

The 87-to-24 vote by the Republican-majority chamber comes a week after the state Senate, also under GOP control, voted for the bill by an even wider margin. This marks the end of a decade-long debate over whether the closely politically divided state should accept the federal government’s coverage for hundreds of thousands of low-income adults.

The law’s architects had once hoped all states would take that step, pushing income eligibility limits to 138 percent of the federal poverty level. This would provide health insurance to millions of people who are currently uninsured. After North Carolina’s expansion, 10 states will remain in the U.S. that have not yet accepted the Medicaid expansion.

In Alabama, advocates are urging lawmakers to take advantage of federal incentives to expand Medicaid in order to provide health insurance to thousands of low-income people. The expansion of Medicaid in North Carolina is expected to have a positive impact on the state’s economy, as it will provide access to health care for hundreds of thousands of people.