600,000 North Carolinians now have access to health insurance as expanded Medicaid begins

ASHEVILLE – For years, many North Carolinians who became sick and did not have insurance faced impossible decisions: cut back on necessities to fund treatment or forgo health care, hoping that the illness would resolve itself. Many of those who did not qualify for insurance were stuck in the state’s coverage gap. They earned too much to qualify for Medicaid, the state-run health insurance program for people with low incomes, and not enough to access health insurance through the open marketplace. Previously, Medicaid enrollees in North Carolina had to prove...