WASHINGTON, D.C. — Monday, U.S. Representative Richard Hudson (NC-08) led a North Carolina Congressional delegation in a letter urging the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to reject Governor Roy Cooper’s illegal Medicaid expansion proposal.
“In his first days in office, Governor Cooper is misleading North Carolinians and threatening to overstep the clear bounds of our state’s Constitution,” said Hudson.”Governor Cooper doesn’t have the authority to unilaterally make these changes plain and simple. I’m proud to lead a letter to stop this unlawful proposal and save North Carolinians’ hard-earned tax dollars.”
The letter cites the same North Carolina statutes and portions of the North Carolina Constitution that have been cited by state lawmakers as evidence of Gov. Roy Cooper’s inability to exclude the legislature from an expansion of Medicaid.
The laws dating back to 2013 bar any agency from adjusting Medicaid eligibility thresholds and specifically delegate that authority to the General Assembly.
“No governor of North Carolina has the legal authority to submit a Medicaid expansion plan to CMS,” the letter reads. “Such actions would commit the State to approximately $600 million in new spending each year.”
Nine North Carolina members of the U.S. House of Representatives signed the letter urging CMS to reject the amendment request. The signatories, all Republican, include Rep. Richard Hudson’ Rep. Ted Budd; Rep. George Holding; Rep. Mark Meadows; Rep. Mark Walker; Rep. Robert Pittenger; Rep. Virginia Foxx; Rep. Patrick McHenry; and Rep. David Rouzer.
