A new poll from the nonpartisan organization NC Child shows that a large majority of North Carolinians support closing the health insurance coverage gap that was created when the Governor and legislature declined to use available federal funds to expand Medicaid eligibility. This support extends to Independents and Republicans. The poll found that overall 72 percent of North Carolinians support closing the coverage gap. Among the Independents who often make the difference in close elections support is 62 percent. The same percentage of Republicans want to close the gap.
You can read the analysis from NC Child here.
We know that support or opposition to closing the coverage gap can depend on how you ask the question. This poll was a pretty straightforward description of the Medicaid gap and the policy option before the Governor and legislature. Here’s how the poll was worded:
In North Carolina, more than 350,000 adults, most of them working, cannot afford health insurance on the wages they are paid in industries like retail, construction, and food service. Their incomes are too low to qualify for the tax credits available through the Affordable Care Act and too high to qualify for Medicaid. They are stuck in the ‘insurance coverage gap.’ The Legislature and Governor McCrory could fix the coverage gap by creating a special North Carolina plan in partnership with the Federal government. Do you think North Carolina should make a plan to fix the health insurance coverage gap, or not?
We’ll have to see whether this changes the minds of political leaders. After elected officials in a number of conservative states saw similar polls and watched federal funds flow to other regions they decided to take action to protect their residents and boost rural health care. Let’s hope our politicians have a similar reaction.
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