“I am stuck in an impossible choice where every month it’s a decision between which needs I’m going to meet and which I’m going to let go: will it be heating or a check-up? I have to make these choices every month because the healthcare system has refused to take care of me up to this point.” -Watauga County
County to county, our healthcare stories are pretty much the same, what with 600,000 people living in a healthcare coverage gap. North Carolina has one of the highest rates of uninsured people in the country with 600,000 people in the “coverage gap” meaning that even though they are working to pay rent and feed their family, they still earn too much to qualify for health insurance assistance.
Click here to get specific information about the healthcare gap in your county.
Many people with chronic health conditions forgo care, often resulting in serious and costly illnesses. We need Medicaid expansion for treatment of chronic conditions like asthma, diabetes, hypertension, and cancer screening. We need Medicaid expansion to help rural hospitals keep their doors open.
Is the N.C. General Assembly willing to work for poor and working people?
The Senate vote on Bill 149 “Access to Healthcare” this week, indicates that there is room for hope and action. Can we work together to incur that Rep. Tim Moore will bring Medicaid Expansion to a House vote? We owe it to each other to close the NC healthcare gap.
Representative Tim Moore, please bring Bill 149 Expanding Access to Health Care in North Carolina”, to the floor. We are counting on you.
Our voices matter.
Please sign up right away to take part in an advocacy training, and bring your healthcare story and message to your Representative with our staff.
“I have a part time job which I love. I also care for my parents and my teenager. My parents have cancer, one has Alzheimer’s and while they both have healthcare, I also care for my teenager. I need Medicaid Expansion now.”
“I talked to a patient who has severe multiple sclerosis with innumerable brain lesions about the medication she needs, which costs $7000 a month. I ordered aspirin for a patient with severe chest pain because she couldn’t afford the hospital bills of an ER visit, nor can she afford to pay for a stress test. I wish these were exceptional stories, but these are just the stories of my Thursday.”
Your stories put everyday faces and lives in front of the impossible numbers of people who are suffering as a result of living in the healthcare coverage gap. Your stories move hearts and minds towards enacting policies and laws that impact and change the quality of lives. Your stories are inarguable, and cut through the political sidestepping of life and death issues we face.
Are you ready to share your story? Please contact [email protected] or go online at dhnc.info/Medicaid. We are in this together.
