Lives are on the line, but Governor McCrory and our state lawmakers are playing politics while time is running out for some North Carolinians.

 

 

It seems like such a no brainer: Want to save lives? Extend health insurance to those who cannot afford it!

 

 

 

Lawmakers depend on hearing from their constituents to know what matters most to North Carolina families. By standing up for this health coverage, you’ll tell Governor McCrory that his constituents expect him to be a leader on this issue, just as Governors in other states have been, in order to make sure approximately 500,000 uninsured North Carolinians get health insurance.

 

The Affordable Care Act was designed to help everyone be able to get health insurance. The law gives states funding if they take the option to extend Medicaid coverage to adults who make too little to afford private insurance but too much to qualify for Medicaid. This has created a “coverage gap” in states like North Carolina that opted not to expand Medicaid coverage.

 

 

Not only will it save lives, it’s a great deal for our state, too! Funding to extend health insurance to low-income uninsured adults is covered at 100% by the Federal Government for the first three years and then at 90% each year after that. A report from Cone Health Foundation and Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust found that if lawmakers act to expand Medicaid right away, North Carolina will generate a billion dollars 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. This would give our economy a much needed boost! The money has already been set aside for us, all our state has to do is bring our tax dollars home to help half a million North Carolinians get health insurance.

 

Refusing to expand Medicaid is unacceptable, especially considering lives are on the line and a majority of North Carolinians support extending health coverage to uninsured adults in our state. Having reliable health coverage improves a family’s economic security. A national study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that adults enrolled in Medicaid were 40% less likely to report having to borrow money or skip payment on other bills because of medical expenses. Lives are on the line and it’s up to the Governor and our lawmakers to extend health coverage to hard-working North Carolinians who can’t afford the high cost of private health insurance.

 

 

Most 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.

 

These are also our friends, neighbors, and family members. Our loved ones will continue to suffer the consequences of not having health coverage until our lawmakers decide to fix this. This is terrible for our families and for our economy!