April is Medicaid Awareness Month, a time to recognize the critical role that Medicaid plays in the health and well-being of millions of Americans, including many of the people Vaya serves across western and central North Carolina.
Medicaid is one of the nation’s largest health coverage programs, and its impact reaches far beyond individual members. From supporting rural health systems to generating economic activity in local communities, Medicaid is a cornerstone of the broader health care infrastructure that families, businesses, and entire regions depend on.
Who Does Medicaid Serve?
Medicaid covers a wide and diverse population. Across the country, 92% of eligible individuals are enrolled in the program, a strong indicator of how essential this coverage is to the people who qualify for it.
Medicaid eligibility is based on income, U.S. citizenship, and the state where a person lives, as well as category-specific requirements for certain groups. A common misconception is that most Medicaid recipients are not working. The data tells a different story. According to KFF, among adults under age 65 enrolled in Medicaid who are not receiving Social Security disability benefits and are not also covered by Medicare, 92% are either working full or part-time (64%), or not working due to caregiving responsibilities (12%), illness or disability (10%), or school attendance (7%). Medicaid is not a substitute for work. For many, it is what makes work possible by providing access to the health care they need to stay well and stay employed.
Medicaid’s Impact on Local Communities
The value of Medicaid extends beyond the individuals it covers. Research out of Western Carolina University illustrates just how significant that community-level impact can be. A study by WCU economist Steve Ha found that Jackson County’s $770,000 investment in administering Medicaid and SNAP benefits generated more than $144 million in total economic impact for the county. That return on investment includes more than 1,200 jobs created or maintained annually, over $67 million in labor income, and millions in tax revenue returned to federal, state, and local governments.
The findings underscore something that is easy to overlook: Medicaid funding circulates through local economies. When Medicaid dollars are spent on health services, those dollars support jobs, businesses, and tax bases in the communities where people live.
This is especially important in rural areas, where Medicaid often plays an outsized role in sustaining health systems that might otherwise struggle to remain open. In rural areas of North Carolina, access to care depends directly on the financial stability of local providers and Medicaid is a primary source of that support.
Medicaid and the People Vaya Serves
As a public managed care organization, Vaya manages Medicaid funding to connect members across a 32-county region of North Carolina to behavioral health services, supports for intellectual and developmental disabilities, and care for traumatic brain injuries. For many of Vaya’s members, Medicaid is the primary, and often the only, source of health coverage available to them.
Medicaid Awareness Month is an opportunity to reflect on what that coverage means in practice: access to mental health treatment, substance use recovery services, care coordination, and the kinds of preventive supports that help people stay healthy and engaged in their communities.
Finding Care
If you or someone you know needs help accessing Medicaid services or behavioral health care, Vaya is here to help. Finding care can be confusing sometimes, we make it easier. Start with a phone call to our Member and Recipient Services Line at 1-800-962-9003.
