medicaid expansion

Care Share Health Alliance is excited to welcome Hollis Smith as our new Medicaid Expansion Outreach & Education Coordinator. 

As the Medicaid Expansion O&E Coordinator, Smith will lead Care Share’s work promoting Medicaid Expansion in North Carolina to primarily underserved communities, educating enrollment assisters and community partners on new eligibility guidelines, and supporting their efforts to inform their communities about opportunities to enroll.

This work is in collaboration with our partners at the NC Navigator Consortium and the NC Community Health Center Association, made possible by combined funding from the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust, the Duke Endowment, Dogwood Health Trust, the Cone Health Foundation and the John Rex Endowment. 

“We are thrilled to see North Carolina take this historic step to expanding access to affordable health coverage,” says Care Share Board Chair, Alice Pollard. “With partners, Care Share has led collaborative efforts in North Carolina to promote health insurance coverage since we opened our doors. We’re grateful to have funding and support from partners to continue this work.”

Beginning Dec. 1, 2023, Medicaid eligible income will increase, so North Carolinians may be able to get healthcare insurance through Medicaid even if they didn’t qualify before.  Most people will be able to get healthcare coverage through Medicaid if they live in North Carolina, are age 19 through 64, are a citizen or qualified non-U.S. citizen, and have a household income that is below 138% of the federal poverty level.

“The passing of Medicaid Expansion in North Carolina marks the beginning of a new era where we are able to provide eligible North Carolinians with the healthcare coverage and services they need,” says Weyling White, Care Share’s Executive Director. “I am grateful for our funders that have made it possible for Care Share Health Alliance, in collaboration with the Navigator Consortium and the NC Community Health Center Association, to provide education, community preparedness and support of Medicaid Expansion efforts to communities across North Carolina. Our newest addition to the Care Share team, Hollis Smith, has hit the ground running, and I look forward to future community engagements and healthier community members as we embark on this momentous opportunity for health in our state”.

Smith has lived in the Carolinas all of her life. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Linguistics with minors in Spanish and Social and Economic Justice from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Smith is passionate about a systems-level approach to achieve equity. In her previous position, she served as a Health Insurance Marketplace Navigator as part of the NC Navigator Consortium, where she performed outreach and enrollment efforts to uninsured and underinsured individuals in the High Country Region. She believes that healthcare is a human right and understands the power of the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid Expansion in creating a healthier, more equitable North Carolina.

Care Share Health Alliance is a North Carolina based non-profit that builds capacity, creates networks, and partners for systems change so that communities are healthy and equitable. Learn more about Care Share at www.caresharehealth.org.