NC Medicaid expansion goes to House after big Senate votes

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Legislation that would expand North Carolina’s Medicaid rolls by hundreds of thousands of adults received final Senate approval on Thursday.

The measure, which also contains several other provisions that its authors say would improve health care access and control patient costs, now goes to the House. Speaker Tim Moore reiterated later Thursday that the bill was too complex and time too limited during this annual work session to consider. GOP leaders want to adjourn around July 1.

The Senate already gave the measure initial approval by a near-unanimous margin on Wednesday following substantial debate. There was little floor discussion before a 44-1 vote on Thursday. Sen. Norm Sanderson, a Pamlico County Republican, voted no.

The lopsided votes symbolize a dramatic turn for Medicaid expansion in the Senate, where Republican chamber leader Phil Berger and lieutenants had been among its most ardent opponents. But Berger changed his mind recently, saying that accepting federal money to cover more low-income adults through the 2010 Affordable Care Act now made fiscal sense for the state.

Other provisions scale back and streamline “certificate of need” laws and to allow nurse practitioners, nurse anesthetists and other nurses with advanced instruction to practice without a physician’s supervision.