Wins in the ND 2013 Legislative Session

The longest session in history ended May 3rd in the wee hours of the morning. Two moves on the part of the legislature show a little progress from the state in enacting policy for low and moderate income individuals in ND.


Medicaid Expansion passed and the Governor signed it into law. In North Dakota, there are currently 29,000 uninsured adults who will be eligible for Medicaid under the state expanded Medicaid program. Of these, 24,000 would be newly eligible for Medicaid with the expansion, while 5,000 are eligible for the program under current rules but are not enrolled. This expanded access to coverage is surely to improve the health of North Dakotans.




The state's child care assistance program was expanded to allow subsidies up to 85% of state median income, up from 49%. This gives ND among the most generous child care subsidies program in the nation. What this means for families is greater access to affordable child care which keeps parents in the work force. The dollar amount quickly translated means a family of three making around $60,000 or below would received subsidies and require a small co-pay based on a sliding fee scale.


NDESPA partners will follow the implementation of both to see the impact in the state.

Keep up with the blog as we post more reviews through the next few weeks.