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In the aftermath of the recent overwhelming vote by the North Carolina Senate to make North Carolina the 39th state to expand Medicaid, average North Carolinians have been speaking up all across the state to express their approval and thanks for what is a long overdue and quite possibly life saving action.
Below are just a few of the representative expressions of approval and gratitude we’ve received at the North Carolina Justice Center’s Health Advocacy Project:
Thank you, Senator Chuck Edwards, for supporting legislation to expand Medicaid in North Carolina. Following a stroke, my friend, eventually lost her job as a paralegal during her lengthy recovery. She could not get coverage under Obamacare because she made too little to get a subsidy and did not qualify for Medicaid. She fell into the Coverage Gap.
This year, North Carolina can help 600,000 North Carolinians who find themselves in the Gap get the health insurance they need. Thirty-eight states have already expanded Medicaid, including Republican-led states like Ohio and Oklahoma. By doing so, these states have been able to stabilize their private health insurance costs and lower healthcare costs for everyone. Health insurance benefits people of all ages.
Pregnant women who get regular prenatal care have less pregnancy-related complications, less infant and maternal mortality, and higher birth weights for their babies, especially in families who are Black or Brown. Their children get a better start in life. Insurance coverage for small business owners and their employees makes for healthier staff and less time out of work. Medicaid Expansion decreases premature death for older adults aged 55-64, through early detection and treatment of chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Congress is offering NC nearly $2 billion incentive to expand Medicaid.
We cannot wait any longer. Join me in urging NC House of Representatives to follow the NC Senate’s lead to pass Medicaid Expansion and support an end to our state’s coverage gap once and for all.
Adrienne Hollifield
Black Mountain
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I commend the NC Senate for passing Medicaid expansion after all these years. Now it is up to the NC House to take advantage of this unique opportunity to expand Medicaid which would strengthen rural hospitals, give over 600,000 North Carolinians health coverage and pull in $1.7 Billion dollars in federal funds.
As a health care provider I have personally known of two situations in which my patients were unable to afford their chronic disease medications. Read more