By Anna Benyo, Senior Health Policy Analyst, National Women's Law Center

A recent study by the North Carolina Institute of Medicine confirmed what many Governors, state legislators, advocates, and the public already know: covering more hardworking people through the Medicaid program is not only the right thing to do, it’s a good deal that makes a lot of sense.

I’ll just reiterate the strong findings of the report:

In summary, a decision to participate in Medicaid expansion, as put forth in the [health care] law, would provide insurance coverage to approximately 500,000 North Carolinians; most of whom would remain uninsured without the expansion. Providing health insurance coverage will help people gain access to the care they need, which can help improve health outcomes. Because of the high federal match rate, the offsets, and the new tax revenues, the state would likely experience a net savings of $65.4 million from the Medicaid expansion over the eight-year time period.

There you have it! This should be a no-brainer.

Expand insurance coverage to nearly 500,000 people
Bring in federal dollars
Save over $65 million in state dollars
What will Governor McCrory and the state legislature do with this information?

We hope they do the right thing. Up to 277,000 currently uninsured women would be eligible for coverage through an expansion of North Carolina’s Medicaid program. When combined with other reforms in the health care law, this coverage would reduce uninsurance among women in North Carolina from 20 percent to 4 percent. Hardworking North Carolinians deserve the financial security of having health coverage and the health care they need when they need it.