South By North Strategies, Ltd.

A new study by the NC Center for Public Policy Research looks at the issues confronting the state’s Medicaid Program. From the center’s report:

A new study by the N.C. Center for Public Policy Research finds that as North Carolina’s older population doubles by 2030, the Medicaid program will consume an ever-greater portion of the state budget. Medicaid provides health care for individuals with low incomes, long term care for the elderly, and services for people with disabilities. According to recent estimates from the Fiscal Research Division of the N.C. General Assembly, Medicaid already is the fastest-growing program in the state budget …
—
More than 18 percent of North Carolina’s population is eligible for Medicaid. In 2007, there were 151,763 elderly recipients of Medicaid services, and the average expenditure per recipient was $11,675. While only 10 percent of the recipients of Medicaid services are elderly, more than 20 percent of total Medicaid service dollars in North Carolina are spent on the elderly. In 2007, almost half of the money spent on the elderly through Medicaid was spent on nursing home care.
—
Medicaid is funded jointly by the federal government (65 percent) and the state government (35 percent). The county share was phased out completely by the legislature on July 1, 2009. Together, federal and state Medicaid expenditures in North Carolina for state fiscal year 2008-09 totaled $9.9 billion.