Today, Congresswoman Deborah Ross (NC-02) released the following statement after Governor Roy Cooper signed into law legislation to expand Medicaid in North Carolina, which will extend life-saving health care coverage to potentially 600,000 more low-income adults once expansion is implemented.

“This is an historic day in North Carolina. After years of partisan gridlock, I’m grateful that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle finally came together to get Medicaid expansion over the finish line. I thank Governor Roy Cooper for his steadfast leadership on this critical issue and all the legislators who helped us get here.

“Medicaid expansion would not have been possible without billions of dollars in federal funding in the American Rescue Plan that incentivized leaders to act. I fought for this funding because I know that North Carolinians are tired of waiting for the health care they deserve. I hope legislators put politics aside and work quickly to implement expansion.”

Congresswoman Ross worked to pass the American Rescue Plan in 2021, which included funding to give North Carolina more than a $1.5 billion bonus for expanding Medicaid. She previously served in the North Carolina General Assembly for more than a decade where she fought for Medicaid expansion. In Congress, she has worked with colleagues in other non-expansion states to introduce the Medicaid Saves Lives Act, which would create a federal Medicaid lookalike program for states that have still not expanded Medicaid.