North Carolina’s Medicaid expansion hits enrollment goal about a year ahead of projections

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina reached its Medicaid expansion enrollment goal of 600,000 people just over a year since the program rolled out. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper called the enrollment numbers a “monumental achievement” that is “life-changing” for people in need of health insurance. Medicaid expansion received bipartisan support in its passage through the General Assembly last year after Congress offered more financial incentives for North Carolina to sign on. The state projected it would take two years to enroll 600,000 North Carolinians. In just the first few weeks of the expansion, the program already hit half of its goal.