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childrenAs enrollment begins again, on Saturday, for Affordable Care Act health insurance, it is crucial to note that an important population—children—are still often uninsured. More than five million children in the United States lack any form of health insurance.

In North Carolina, this is particularly a problem within the Hispanic population. The state ranks among the top ten states with the highest number of uninsured Hispanic children, according to a joint report put out by Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families and by the National Council of La Raza. The report found that 12.5% of Hispanic children in North Carolina are uninsured, which is higher than the national average of uninsured Hispanic children. Nationwide, Hispanic children tend to be twice as likely to be uninsured than their white non-Hispanic counterparts.

Contrary to popular belief, immigration status is not the main reason that these children don’t have health care coverage. The majority of Hispanic children in North Carolina are U.S. citizens and are eligible for a program such as ACA, Medicaid, or the Children’s Health Insurance Program which would provide them with health insurance at an affordable cost to their families.

The real barrier to enrollment in health insurance for Hispanic children, according to the report, can often be their parents’ limited English proficiency. A study found that more than one in eight Hispanic children, between the ages of 5 and 17, live in a household where English is spoken “less than well.” A parent with limited English proficiency may not be able to make it through a health care application in English which then results in an eligible child not getting health insurance.

Along with making Spanish language applications available for all health care programs in North Carolina, there needs to be an emphasis placed on educating Hispanic families about health care options for their children and assisting them with the enrollment process. The health care insurance options are available, we just need to do our part in getting these kids signed up.

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Medicaid expansionICYMI, the Washington Post ran a powerful column over the weekend by man from Durham by the name of David Tedrow. In it, he explains how: a) the Affordable Care Act literally saved his life and b) the current threats of repeal by congressional Republicans leave him living in fear for his own survival.

As Tedrow puts it:

“The Obamacare subsidies saved my life. Now, I’m scared the Supreme Court is going to gut them.”

But, of course, Tedrow’s story is just one of thousands. And sadly, there are thousands more who will never get to tell their stories because North Carolina Republicans refuse to expand Medicaid.

In other words, the hard and plain truth at this point is this: The Affordable Care Act is saving lives each and every day of people who would have died for lack of health insurance, but thousands more could be saved if conservative lawmakers and Governor McCrory would halt their shameful blockade — not next year or somewhere down the road, but immediately. As Chris Fitzsimon noted yesterday in a story about McCrory’s current notion to call a special session on corporate business subsidies:

“Here’s a better idea. Listen to Rev. William Barber and call a special session to expand Medicaid instead. That will create thousands of jobs after all and even House Speaker and Senator-elect Thom Tillis now thinks it’s worth considering.”
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The powerful combination of history, an inexhaustible money machine and shameless gerrymandering produced impressive electoral victories for the Right in this week’s election, but it also remains a powerful truth that when you actually ask voters directly for their opinions on core pocketbook issues, they continue to favor progressive solutions.

You’ve probably already heard about the overwhelming success of several minimum wage hike proposals around the country, but here’s another striking example in which even red state voters voted overwhelmingly for the progressive position: Medicaid expansion in Wisconsin.

On Tuesday, the Badger state held an advisory referendum in which voters in 19 counties and one mid-size city were asked whether the state should expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.

The vote: Yes – 73%, No-27%.

Now, mind you, the referendum wasn’t just conducted in a few liberal bastions. Read More

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Medicaid expansionIn case you missed it over the weekend Ned Barnett of Raleigh’s News & Observer had an on-the-money column about the latest  bizarre claim from the McCrory administration that we can now expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act because they have “fixed” what was a “broken” system. As Barnett notes:

“It’s good news that the governor is now open to doing the right thing about Medicaid expansion. Even Tillis now says he might favor it. Refusing to do it could cost the state $51 billion in lost federal money over the next decade, according to a report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

But this change of position shouldn’t pass without a look at the rationale for not doing it in the first place. Wos’ reign at DHHS has been marked by massive provider payment problems, an exodus of staff, plummeting morale and expensive consultants hired to fill in the gaps. Now she’s saying that the administration of Medicaid has been fixed and it’s ready to take on a half-million new recipients.

If that turnaround is true, Wos has accomplished an amazing feat of introducing efficiency and accountability. Yet there’s nothing to suggest that is the case. DHHS under Wos remains an agency riddled by vacancies and burdened by a reputation for administrative dysfunction that has discouraged top applicants. But the Medicaid program itself was never “broken”. It has operated in North Carolina for decades and in recent years has successfully held down administrative costs compared with the national average. Medicaid’s “out-of-control costs,” which Republican legislators say busted the state budget, reflect wishful budgeting. Simply putting a number in the budget won’t hold down costs. People need treatment, and when there’s a recession Medicaid rolls grow. With the economy now improving, Medicaid costs are coming in under budget.”

In other words: It’s great that McCrory and Wos want to expand Medicaid and even fine if they want to delude themselves about the reasoning, but anyone who’s been paying attention knows their claims and rationales are bogus.
Commentary
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People fear the unfamiliar. It’s human nature. When a new threat emerges, our minds often race about it — even when the same old threats are far more worrisome.

This is one reason a healthy (heh) number of my friends are anxious about the Ebola virus. Maybe yours are, too. Heck, maybe you are. Well, here’s the good news: while certainly a frightening disease, Ebola is unlikely to be a widespread public health threat in this country.

There’s bad news, however. Another, less flashy threat to public health is far more dangerous to people in North Carolina and states like it. (The additional bad news: it’s also deeply troubling that Americans are more concerned about a disease killing one person inside our borders than the nearly 5,000 Ebola has killed in Africa so far. That’s a topic for another day.)

The real public health threat is the failure of some American states, including the Old North State, to expand Medicaid.

Medicaid expansion would help more of our neighbors get health insurance, which is vital in preventing the advance of disease — and the early deaths that come with that disease. Here in North Carolina alone, about half a million people lack health insurance that would have been covered had we made the choice to expand Medicaid.

What does that mean? It means more preventable deaths every year. A team of researchers for Harvard found that failure to expand Medicaid could mean as many as 1,145 more deaths in North Carolina every year.

Based on those numbers, that’s about three more preventable deaths in North Carolina every day. Think about the math of that. Read More

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