Health News
Medicaid Expansion Remains Stalled in NC, Bill to Criminalize Grass, Clippings Advances:
I sponsored
HB 5
to expand Medicaid and close the coverage gap for 500,000 North Carolinians on the first day of the legislative session. The bill has yet to receive even a hearing in committee despite strong support from hospitals, doctors, nurses, and citizens who want more of their neighbors covered by health insurance.
Last week four Republican legislators introduced their alternative to Medicaid expansion,
HB 655
that would close the coverage gap for many, but would be a slower and less effective approach. That bill has also not even received a hearing yet.
Passing Medicaid expansion would be the single best thing legislators could do to make people’s lives better in a number of ways:
·
Providing more people access to affordable health care;
·
Lowering health care costs by reducing uncompensated care we all pay for;
·
Creating health care jobs as more people seek services, particularly in rural North Carolina;
·
Making treatment more available for those suffering in the opioid crisis;
·
Bringing back our tax dollars we are sending to Washington DC.
Unfortunately, we have yet to devote any committee time to these issues, but we have spent time on:
·
Criminalizing grass clippings in the street (
HB 104
)
·
Allowing Lincoln County schools to have multiple recesses (
HB 72
)
·
Naming a state raptor, a state marine mammal, a state cookie, a state ship, a state frozen treat, a state azalea festival, and a state poultry festival.
Of course, some of these quirky bills are good ideas and there is nothing wrong with expressions of state and local civic pride.
But when legislative leaders devote time in 15 committee hearings and multiple floor sessions to these more light-hearted bills – and no time at all to Medicaid expansion – there is something very wrong with our General Assembly.
No Medicaid Expansion:
Medicaid expansion will close the coverage gap for 500,000 North Carolinians. Expansion will help people lead healthier and better lives. It will help struggling rural hospitals and create health care jobs.
No state that has expanded Medicaid has reversed course. Many states used the passage of their State Budget bill to expand Medicaid.
HB 966
does not include Medicaid expansion. I supported a motion to send the bill back to committee so Medicaid expansion could be included, but it failed on a party-line vote.
Expanding Medicaid is the single best thing we can do this session to expand health care access, make health care more affordable, address the opioid crisis, and boost rural economies. We must join 37 other states in making this happen.
Governor Roy Cooper Proclaims April 2019 Alcohol Awareness Month:
To raise awareness of the risks underage drinking poses to young people in North Carolina and across the country, Governor Roy Cooper proclaimed April 2019 as Alcohol Awareness Month.
“Underage drinking jeopardizes young people’s health and safety and puts lives at risk,” Gov. Cooper said. “It’s important that people know the dangers of alcohol and that families talk honestly and directly about underage drinking."
According to research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, underage drinking can cause problems in school, changes in brain development and increased risk of suicide. Underage drinking remains a serious problem in North Carolina. In a 2015 survey of middle and high school students in North Carolina, 94 percent of respondents said underage drinking is a problem among their friends and classmates.
The NC Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission launched the
Talk It Out NC
campaign in 2014.
Talk It Out NC
encourages parents and teens to stop underage drinking by pledging to maintain open lines of communication, create honest dialog about peer pressure, acknowledge the negative physical effects of alcohol on young brains and discuss the consequences of driving drunk. Visit
talkitoutnc.org
to get the conversation started.
Education News
Other News
Avoid Consumer Fraud and Telemarketing Scams:
Telemarketing fraud is annoying and illegal. If you have been a victim of telemarketing fraud,
file a complaint
with the Attorney General’s Office. Filing a complaint may stop criminals from victimizing others. Check out the
Attorney General’s website
which lists some common telephone fraud scams. Here are some ways you can protect yourself from being a victim:
1.
Sign up for the Do Not Call Registry by calling 1-888-382-1222 or go to
www.DONOTCALL.gov
