North Carolina’s Medicaid expansion program has enrolled 500,000 people in just 7 months

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — More than 500,000 North Carolina residents have enrolled in state’s Medicaid expansion program in the seven months since it was launched. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper said in a Friday news conference that his office’s goal was to hit 600,000 in two years but enrollment has exceeded expectations. Expanding Medicaid had been a major goal of Cooper’s since he took office in 2017. North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kody Kinsley also celebrated the number. Kinsley also drew attention to nearly 2 million prescriptions filled for new enrollees. He called for state lawmakers to increase provider rates under Medicaid expansion in a future budget.