RALEIGH - As the budget process gets underway, there may be an opportunity to increase innovation in North Carolina business. Linda Millsaps, executive director of the state Center for Public Policy Research, says Gov. McCrory's budget has a larger portion set aside for venture capital, which could help diversify the state economy.

"North Carolina, historically, has not had a great deal of venture capital activity. It's one of the things that makes us 23rd in the country in innovation," Millsaps says, speaking to Carolina Newsmakers. "Several previous governors have tried and made some successes and some failures at changing that."

Also in McCrory's budget is what Millsaps describes as a hint that North Carolina will expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Millsaps questions the decision not to expand the healthcare program.

"If that half-million people happens to get sick and get very sick, they still present at the emergency room and somebody's still got to pay for that," Millsaps says. "By the state not picking up that Medicaid expansion, it doesn't mean that cost goes away. I think that's part of what doesn't always get highlighted in the discussion."

And it's a tale of two states in North Carolina as economic growth seems to concentrate in the big cities as opposed to rural areas. That's according to Linda Millsaps, executive director of the state's Center for Public Policy Research, who says she is looking at why some rural areas get passed over.

"We have some rural areas in this state and in other places in the country that have started to rebound," she says. "One of the things that's been of interest to us at the center is starting to look at what is it that makes that difference? What is it that allows some communities to really do very well and others tend to stagnate?"

Millsaps says her hypothesis is different rural towns have different philosophies when it comes to governance and economics, as well as residents with capital to invest.

But while the economy may not grow evenly, there is one major force that affects everyone: aging. And Millsaps says her organization is looking at what the impact of an aging population will be on our state.

"Over time, both your health and your bank account tend to erode a little bit. Then the question becomes 'What happens as people live longer?'" she says. "'What does that do to our health delivery system?' 'What does that do in terms of economic development and supporting those folks?'"

More changes in health care could be on the way. Millsaps says the state will have a chance to find ways to experiment with healthcare and health insurance as a new facet of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, opens up next year.

"States can say 'We understand what the overall purpose of the Affordable Care Act is and we want to build our own system,'" she says. "That could create some very interesting opportunities because our culture and our needs vary by state."

Under the Affordable Care Act, states also have the option to experiment with the delivery of  Medicaid. But this only applies to states that have expanded the program, which North Carolina has not done.