A screenshot from the March 7 meeting of the Anson County Board of Commissioners.

A screenshot from the March 7 meeting of the Anson County Board of Commissioners.

WADESBORO — Medicaid has been expanded in the state of North Carolina, opening the doors for 600,000 state residents to apply after the NC House and Senate reached an agreement last week.

2,750 of those North Carolinians that qualify are from Anson County, according to Lula Jackson, who presented information regarding Medicaid and food stamps to the Anson County Board of Commissioners on March 7.

The old standard for qualification for a family of four was $744 a month, or around $8,000 a year. The qualification has been raised to $3,000, or around $36,000 a year.

“There is potential for more families to be eligible,” Jackson explained. “Medicaid expansion will improve individuals’ ability to access healthcare, hopefully in conjunction with expanded Medicaid. Then, it will also increase medical services that will be available in the county.”

Among changes with DSS programs comes reverting to pre-COVID allotments for food and nutrition benefits, such as food stamps.

“Effective March first, there will no longer be an expansion of benefits or approval for full amount, full allotment of benefits for each citizen in the state of North Carolina,” Jackson said. “The income will be counted. Whatever their normal allotment was, is what they will revert back to instead of receiving the maximum monthly benefits.”

As the pandemic ends, many of the services that have helped keep families afloat will end, going back to the pre-pandemic standards and amounts.

“The public health emergency is scheduled to end May 11,” Jackson explained. “With that ending, there’s going to be a lot of services that were once available will no longer be available to the general public.”

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