CHAPEL HILL (AP) — Attorney General Roy Cooper says he can’t see any reason why the North Carolina legislature and Gov. Pat McCrory refused to expand Medicaid coverage except for a political one.
The veteran Democratic elected official told reporters Monday he hoped Republican leaders would reconsider their decision not to expand eligibility to more of the state’s poor, uninsured adults in next spring’s legislative session.
Cooper says he believes the refusal is related to political opposition to President Obama’s health care law, which allows for states to expand Medicaid.
McCrory rejected a call last month to hold a special session to accept the expansion. He says the Medicaid program needs to be fixed before the state takes on new categories of consumers.
Cooper is planning a run for governor in 2016.