North Carolina鈥檚 Medicaid program covers 1.7 million people at a cost of $14 billion per year.
The program for low-income and disabled residents has had a turbulent past. Last year, computer glitches created a long backlog of applications and payments for providers. And Medicaid has been a question mark in the budget, causing cost overruns for several years.
But health officials say the system is improving enough that the state could reconsider expanding Medicaid to half a million people who do not have health insurance.
On Monday, a joint subcommittee in the legislature recommended creating an independent board to run Medicaid, in order to cut costs and improve management.
Host Frank Stasio talks with , secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, and Robin Cummings, director of North Carolina's Medicaid program, about Medicaid and other health issues in North Carolina.
