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Hi John,
North Carolina does not treat its rural communities right. There are over 500,000 working men and women without health insurance in North Carolina, many with families. Uninsurance has hit North Carolina’s rural communities and their hospitals the hardest.
Expanding Medicaid coverage helps working North Carolinians buy health insurance at a price they can afford . Medical care inclusion means a mother can get allergy shots for her son instead of fearing an asthma attack that puts him in the emergency room. It means being able to afford $200 worth of blood pressure medicine, instead of risking a $20,000 hospital visit.
The nearest hospitals are now in Little Washington, 45 minutes away by car, or Nags Head, 90 miles through congested tourist traffic. A heart attack in Hyde County does not leave you with good options.
Most are living paycheck to paycheck -- waitresses and nurses, farmers, carpenters, electricians. Many work two or three part-time jobs or on contract, just to pay the rent. These jobs don’t offer insurance. There is no room in the budget for health insurance premiums. If a working parent gets sick and loses a couple weeks’ work, the family is at risk of losing the car or becoming homeless. And because they are working, these workers earn too much for Medicaid and too little for help under the Affordable Care Act.
Rural counties have persistently higher mortality on just about every indicator you look at -- from diabetes to opioid use. In North Carolina, 20 counties do not have a pediatrician; 26 counties do not have an OB-GYN; and 32 are without a psychiatrist, 11 counties have two or less dentists, and four counties have none, all according to the interactive North Carolina Health Professions Data System. Families in Polk, Hyde, Vance, and McDowell deserve better. We can do better.
When a rural hospital closes, at least 150 jobs are instantly gone . The ripple effects of a closure mean other jobs dry up, too. In states that have chosen Medicaid inclusion, fewer rural hospitals closed than in states like North Carolina that have refused to adopt Medicaid expansion. Research overwhelmingly shows that expanding Medicaid saves states money, even as it stimulates health care spending.
It’s time for North Carolina to follow in the footsteps of 34 other states and the District of Columbia and make sure our low-income workers – people like nurses, farmers, carpenters and electricians – are covered with reliable health insurance. It is time we expanded Medicaid to include our hard working families.
What do you think about Medicaid Expansion? Share your thoughts by taking the survey below.
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Best,
Bill Toole
Candidate for Lt. Governor
Toole for NC
www.VoteBillToole.com | 704-582-7850 office | 701-354-7968 fax | [email protected]
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