Medicaid agreement in North Carolina closes in on passage

By GARY D. ROBERTSON
Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The details of a deal reached by North Carolina legislative Republicans to expand Medicaid to hundreds of thousands of low-income adults has received overwhelming initial approval from the state Senate. Tuesday’s vote on legislation comes less than two weeks after House and Senate leaders unveiled an agreement that could cover 600,000 people. The measure must pass the Senate a second time before it goes to the House for likely final action. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper is a longtime expansion advocate who would be asked to sign the bill into law. North Carolina is one of 11 states that haven’t yet adopted expansion.