ROCKINGHAM — Richmond County has the third-highest percentage of adults enrolled in Medicaid across the state, according to a new dashboard from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
NCDHHS announced the creation of the online dashboard in a press release on Wednesday.
Click here to read that press release.
As of Dec. 20, there were 2,078 adults in Richmond County enrolled in the health program designed to help “low-income adults, children, pregnant women, seniors and people with disabilities.” That accounts for 8.7% of the 23,833 residents aged 19-64.
Of those, 30.8% are 19-29 years old, 20.5% are in their 30s, 19.8% are in their 40s, 17.9% are in their 50s, and 6.2% are 60-64.
Women account for 53.2% of enrollees.
The other top four counties named in the press release are: Anson (8%) Edgecombe (9.5%); and Robeson (10.5%). Neighboring Scotland County rounds out the top five with 7.9%.
According to a graphic from the National Institutes for Health, citing information from the U.S. Census Bureau, Richmond, Scotland, Anson and Robeson are among the poorest counties in the state — all with a median household income of less than $40,000 per year.
(Note: The data is from 2017-2021)
For Richmond County, the median income is $38,926 — lower than both Anson and Scotland.
Of the four counties along the U.S. 74 corridor, Robeson County has the lowest median income at $36,736.
The only other counties with a lower income than Richmond are Halifax ($37,832), Bertie ($37,571), and Washington ($32,937). The latter is the lowest in the entire state.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the state median household income (2018-2022) is $66,186.
Figures from the state are a little higher.
When the N.C. Department of Commerce recently updated its Tier ranking system — using the average unemployment rate, median household income, percentage of growth in population, and adjusted property tax base per capita — the median income (2021) for Richmond County was listed as $42,158.
Adding in the other factors — including a 1.53% decrease in population and a 4.61% unemployment rate — Richmond County is designated as the ninth-most economically distressed of the state’s 100 counties.
Scotland comes in as the second-most economically distressed, with Edgecombe having the dubious distinction as being the most distressed.
More than 600,000 North Carolinians became eligible for Medicaid on Dec. 1. According to NCSHHS, 273,000 enrolled on the first day.
During his push for Medicaid, Gov. Roy Cooper held a roundtable at the Hamlet Depot.
Click here to read the first story.
Click here to read the second story.
CORRECTION: This story has been updated to change “number of” to “percentage of” in the lede. 8:16 p.m. 12-20-23.
