I’m baffled.
Why do our NC legislators keep passing up an opportunity that would be a great win for our state? Multiple research reports show that extending Medicaid to low-income uninsured adults in North Carolina would be a win-win-win for the people, economy, and communities across our state. Yet, even when considering a bill focused on reforming Medicaid, legislators have turned their backs on expanding access to the nearly 500,000 hard-working North Carolinians in need of health insurance.
We must act quickly! Send a message to your lawmakers to tell them to include expansion of Medicaid in the Medicaid reform bill!
Why act now? Lawmakers could still add Medicaid expansion as an amendment while they debate the Medicaid reform bill this week. But they won’t do it unless we make it loud and clear that moms and dads in North Carolina support extending health coverage to those who need it in our state!
Why does Medicaid expansion matter? Tragically, it’s estimated that over 1,000 North Carolinians will die each year as a result of not having health insurance. Lives are quite literally on the line, but our state lawmakers are playing politics while time is running out for some people.
We all have a stake in making health coverage more accessible! A recent economic analysis found that if lawmakers act to expand Medicaid right away, North Carolina will generate $1 billion in related tax revenue and create 43,000 jobs through 2020. In addition, closing the coverage gap would save the state budget more than $300 million in that same time frame. The money has already been set aside for North Carolina by the federal government. All our state has to do is bring our tax dollars home to help half a million North Carolinians get health insurance.
Tell your lawmakers to include expansion of Medicaid as part of reform! Send your message now: http://action.momsrising.org/letter/tell-nc-lawmakers-medicaid-reform-should-include-expansion-500k-uninsured-adults-nc/
Most of the North Carolinians who would be Medicaid-eligible if our state were to expand the program are adults who are employed and work in retail, food preparation, hospitality, service industries, and agriculture. North Carolina’s economy relies heavily on these individuals, and they deserve to have access to the preventative care they need and to be able to see a doctor when they get sick.
Related Posts
The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of MomsRising.org.
MomsRising.org strongly encourages our readers to post comments in response to blog posts. We value diversity of opinions and perspectives. Our goals for this space are to be educational, thought-provoking, and respectful. So we actively moderate comments and we reserve the right to edit or remove comments that undermine these goals. Thanks!