After submitting a request to expand the North Carolina's Medicaid program for 2018, the Obama administration promised swift action, while Republican lawmakers plead to CMS to reject the request, The News & Observer reports.
Here's what you should know.
1. North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper hopes to expand the state's Medicaid program under the possible soon-to-be-appealed ACA.
2. On Jan. 9, 2017, HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell said CMS would process the state's request "as expeditiously as possible when we get it."
3. Two Republican lawmakers argued Gov. Cooper's request was illegal under a N.C. state law as the request lacked state legislature approval. Therefore, the legislators urged CMS to prohibit the request.
4. If CMS grants the expansion, hundreds of thousands of residents would be eligible for coverage.