skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

30,000 in ND Could Gain Coverage with Medicaid Expansion

play audio
Play

Tuesday, December 4, 2012   

BISMARCK, N.D. - North Dakota is considering whether to expand the state's Medicaid program, as allowed under the Affordable Care Act. Among the supporters of such action is AARP of North Dakota.

Associate State Director for Advocacy Josh Askvig says expanding the program would allow more of those families who are struggling financially to be eligible for coverage.

"It would provide access to approximately 30,000 North Dakotans, somewhere between 3,000 and 5,000 individuals between the ages of 50 and 64."

Under the Affordable Care Act, each state has the option to expand Medicaid to those who meet certain eligibility requirements.

Askvig says the federal government is providing matching funds to help with the expansion, and the investment on behalf of the state will bring returns. This would be by allowing more people to be able to afford to go in for regular check-ups or when a health issue is just starting to emerge.

"If I can do some preventive screening over here and catch something early and take care of it early, versus having to wait because I didn't have coverage and all of a sudden it's a major surgery or a major procedure that's costly, that certainly would be beneficial not only to an individual, but to all of us as a whole."

Whether North Dakota does move forward with the Medicaid expansion will depend on the governor and state lawmakers, who return to session next month.

"They would have to decide to make the application to the federal government to do the Medicaid expansion. And the reason we need it is that expanding Medicaid is going to help ensure that people have access to care that they might not have had before, and probably are working jobs that may not have access to health benefits or can't afford to purchase it right now."

Currently, 45 percent of all Americans who live under the poverty line are uninsured.

More information is at bit.ly/SHb8NY.




get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021