North Carolina Governor Josh Stein signed the bill into law to keep the vital program running, but not without noting some of the “serious flaws.”
Republicans often equate the raw cost of Medicaid with waste and abuse, a dangerous oversimplification for families whose healthcare needs are both genuine and extremely expensive.
The 2023 closing of Martin General left 21,000 people without access to emergency health care. In a county where nearly a third of the community relies on Medicaid, the consequences have been severe.
Republicans gained control of the NC General Assembly in 2010. In 2011, they passed SB 265, which would allow the state to charge retirees a premium for their healthcare. Retirees sued, and the case went back & forth in the courts until 2022.
The opioid crisis has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of North Carolinians. While some patients are able to access medication to treat addiction, most adults seeking treatment still struggle to access medications for Opioid Use Disorder.
When people lose insurance, they often rely on emergency rooms. But ERs were never intended to replace primary care, doctors warn. North Carolina emergency rooms are not built for what’s coming.
Lee and his Republican colleagues’ impasse means that our state is failing to fill the gap, causing over one billion dollars to be taken out of our health care system and putting our already underfunded education system at further risk.
The anniversary is a reminder of what is possible when leaders prioritize working families and build coalitions to lower costs and expand access to care. It also underscores what is at stake as new proposals threaten to undo that progress.
Across eastern NC, emergency care services aren’t always easy to come by and often require long wait times or distant drives. The consequences can be devastating.
Gov. Stein identified pay raises and Medicaid funding as the most urgent issues. However, state lawmakers have yet to act.