People across the state are calling for Republicans in the North Carolina General Assembly to protect Medicaid coverage for hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians after President Donald Trump signed his “Big Beautiful Bill” into law.
“[Oliver] weighed 15.5 ounces, which is smaller than a pound; he’s one of the smallest babies to ever make it out of the NICU at WakeMed,” Maddie Wertenberg, a Raleigh mom, said.
Today, her son Oliver, or Oli, is almost two. He had to fight to make it here after being born three months premature.
“When he was first born, they gave us, we kind of asked them, you know, what are his chances, and they gave us between 10% and 20%,” Wertenberg said. “He had everything happen, he had hemorrhage, he had medication, he had to have more blood tests, and x-rays, and God knows what else.”
Oli spent over 100 days in the NICU, racking up a hospital bill of over $1.2 million. Wertenberg and her husband had what she calls good health insurance, but it didn’t cover everything. So they turned to Medicaid.
She’s one of many North Carolinians concerned about the future of Medicaid after President Trump signed his Big Beautiful Bill into law.
Democrats across North Carolina have stood united in opposition to Trump’s legislation, citing the potentially devastating effects that the bill could have on working-class families. State Senator Jay Chaudhuri said it’s not a Democrat vs. Republican issue, even quoting Republican Thom Tillis, who voted against the bill in Washington.
“Senator Tillis went on to ask, ‘So what do I tell 663,000 people in two or three years when President Trump breaks his promise by pushing people off of Medicaid because the funding is not there anymore?’” Senator Chaudhuri said.
Chaudhuri stated that the cuts will have a devastating impact across the state.
“It will put unimaginable pressure on our state budget that will force us to take away healthcare coverage for hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians and close down rural hospitals,” Senator Chaudhuri said.
Senator Chaudhuri and State Representative Tim Longest hosted a town hall to hear voters’ concerns related to the Republican budget. The two lawmakers focused on how the loss of federal aid will complicate a state budget that’s already strained by past and planned tax cuts. Heba Atwa of the nonprofit NC Budget & Tax Center also gave a presentation on the damaging effects the new federal law will have on Medicaid and SNAP, the federal food assistance program.
Ellen Beidler, a retired nurse, left the event in a somber mood. She saw what happened to people who lacked health insurance before Medicaid was expanded, some of them finally coming in for medical care after their cancer had reached a late stage.
Now she worries that people will be returned to that vulnerable condition.
“I’m really heartbroken over what’s happening to health care,” she said, “We’re all connected and we’re all going to get hurt.”
