CAROLINA JOURNAL

Medicaid in North Carolina

      by Becki Gray, Carolina Journal, October 3, 2013.

Before Obamacare, before individual mandates, before exchanges, there was Medicaid. Started in 1965 under President Johnson as part of his War on Poverty, Medicaid extended health insurance coverage to low-income Americans.

Today, Medicaid is the largest publicly funded insurance program in the country. It serves low-income families, the elderly, and disabled. One In five Americans is on Medicaid, more than one-third of the births in the United States are covered by Medicaid, and one-fourth of U.S. children get health care through Medicaid.

Medicaid covers one in nine North Carolinians — 1.6 million of us — and 51 percent of births are covered by Medicaid, the sixth-highest rate in the nation.

Medicaid is funded jointly by the state and federal governments. North Carolina’s share of the program is about $3 billion, while total Medicaid spending in N.C. is closer to $14 billion.

Medicaid spending has grown 90 percent over the last decade and is the fastest-growing part of our state budget, with spending rising by 15 percent in 2011-12; 16.8 percent in
2012-13; and a projected 17.2 percent in 2014-15.

North Carolina’s Medicaid costs are the highest in the South and among the highest in the nation. We have more people enrolled and spend more per patient than neighboring states. Twenty-five percent of the state’s primary care physicians aren’t accepting new Medicaid patients, limiting access, reducing health outcomes for patients, and driving up costs.

Uncontrolled expenses result in consistent budget overruns. Just this year, legislators faced a $400 million shortfall. Since Medicaid is a federal entitlement program, it has to be funded before anything else. Medicaid is the biggest driver of state budget decisions, crowding out other priorities. (more…)

CAROLINA JOURNAL

the Charlotte Observer – www.CharlotteObserver.com

Posted: Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2011

By Jim Morrill

A national online effort to find and nominate a candidate for president has begun a petition drive to get that candidate on the ballot in North Carolina.

Americans Elect, described as a “virtual Third Party,” hopes to mobilize tens of thousands of people across the country to recommend and then vote on a presidential ticket in 2012.

Organizers say they’ve already gotten the 1.6 million signatures they need to get on the ballot in California.

“There’s a real hunger out there for a third ticket in 2012 and for folks to participate in a more meaningful way in a primary,” Elliot Ackerman, the group’s chief operating officer, told the Observer on Monday. “Not just people who live in early primary states like Iowa and New Hampshire but every American.”

The group’s board of advisers includes Mark Erwin of Charlotte, an investor and former U.S. ambassador, former FBI Director William Webster and Mark McKinnon, a former adviser to President George W. Bush.

Its website says the nonprofit group plans to use the Internet “to help break gridlock and change politics as usual.”

Basically, the plan works like this: (more…)

CAROLINA JOURNAL

John Hood’s Daily Journal
Carolina, Look North
By John Hood , John Locke Foundation

Monday 14th, 2011

RALEIGH – The Old North State’s economy is in a shambles. The New North State’s economy isn’t.

North Carolina, the Old North State, has posted the nation’s weakest recovery from the 2007-08 recession, according to the Bloomberg Economic Evaluation of the States (BEES). The index includes measurements of unemployment, income growth, home prices, mortgage foreclosures, government finances, and the stock performance of public companies based in the state.

From the fourth quarter of 2008 to the third quarter of 2011, North Carolina ranked dead last in performance on the BEES index. North Dakota ranked first – in fact, it was the only state that posted significant economic growth during the period.

One reason for North Dakota’s success is, of course, its energy industry. Rising worldwide demand for energy has pushed up prices for oil and natural gas. As far as we known, North Carolina does not hold any significant oil reserves, onshore or offshore. But the situation is entirely different when it comes to natural gas. There is no good reason for North Carolina not to allow additional private exploration of natural gas, which will create jobs, boost incomes, and reduce long-term energy costs. (more…)

Carolina Journal Exclusives

The State of the State (of Higher Education)

Chronicle reports on funding, degree trends at N.C. colleges

RALEIGH — Every year, The Chronicle of Higher Education releases its fact-filled almanac issue, which provides useful information about colleges and universities in every state. Some of the key findings about North Carolina are noted here.

To begin with, North Carolina has 16 public four-year institutions, 59 public two-year institutions, 44 private nonprofit four-year institutions, one private non-profit two-year institution, and 17 private for-profit institutions. These add up to a total of 137 higher education institutions in the state.

University finances

Despite the economic downturn, university funding and spending grew in 2011.

• State and federal support for higher education in North Carolina rose 6 percent between academic years 2009-10 and 2010-11.

• Two of the 99 American institutions that charged more than $50,000 for tuition, fees, room, and board in 2010-11 are located in North Carolina: Wake Forest University ($50,980) and Duke University ($51,865). (more…)