Medicaid Expansion Hearing

Last week I attended an informative and emotionally powerful hearing on Medicaid Expansion hosted by Representative Darren Jackson and Senator Dan Blue. We heard from experts in Medicaid Expansion as well as North Carolinians who have experienced firsthand just how important health insurance is, and how difficult and dangerous life can be when you find yourself in the healthcare coverage gap. I highly recommend watching their powerful testimony yourself here.

I appreciate every Legislator and all of the members of the public who took the time to attend this important hearing on one of the most impactful things we as a Legislature can accomplish this year.

Robin Jordan gave a heartfelt testimony detailing the life and death of her daughter Jessica. Jessica suffered from depression, anxiety, and PTSD. She was in the health insurance coverage gap, was unable to access the care she needed, and she ended up losing her life due to an accidental overdose. Lynne Pierce is a working mother who lives in the coverage gap. She cannot afford insurance or healthcare for herself or her family, and she is constantly worried about what might happen if she or anyone else in her family gets sick and needs care. Cassandra Brooks owns and operates two childcare facilities in Wake and Johnston Counties. She detailed how the childcare profession is plagued by a lack of insurance. Two of Cassandra's employees in the past few years have died because they did not have access to care. Stories like the ones told by Robin, Lynne, and Cassandra last week are not outliers. Hundreds of thousands of hard-working North Carolinians face the hard choices, and often life-threatening consequences, of living in the healthcare coverage gap every single day. Dr. Leighton Ku, author of the Cone Health Report on the benefits of expanding Medicaid in NC joined us at the Medicaid Expansion Hearing to detail the costs of failing to expand Medicaid as well as the incredible benefits, to healthcare and to our economy, of successfully closing the coverage gap. Click here to read the full Cone Report.

I joined Dr. Ku after the hearing to discuss his insights into the health and economic benefits of Medicaid Expansion.

One particularly compelling point that Dr. Ku made during his testimony was his comparison of healthcare and health outcomes in states that have expanded Medicaid versus North Carolina. In 2013, North Carolina, West Virginia, and Kentucky all had very similar demographics when it came to the uninsured rate, access to affordable primary care, and rural hospital health. Both West Virginia and Kentucky have expanded Medicaid, and the data is clear. The uninsured rates in both of these states have fallen sharply. Access to primary care, opioid treatment, cancer treatment, and more have dramatically increased. Rural hospitals in these states are thriving. The Affordable Care Act has marginally improved coverage in North Carolina, but our gains are nothing like the incredible increases thanks to expanded Medicaid in states like West Virginia and Kentucky. We need to expand Medicaid in North Carolina. Beyond the health outcomes, Dr. Ku also detailed the economic benefits that North Carolina could see if we expand Medicaid: $11.7 Billion in federal Medicaid funds would be paid to North Carolina between 2020 and 2022. Our state would see a job boom, adding 37,000 good-paying jobs to our economy. State revenue would increase by $500 million and local revenue by $100 million due to the increased tax base thanks to thousands of new jobs and the decrease in uncompensated care costs. This is real data, showing real, tangible benefits that North Carolina could access if we close healthcare coverage gap. It is time for This North Carolina Legislature to stop wasting our taxes and expand Medicaid Now.

Chamber of Commerce

I appreciated the opportunity to join my fellow Legislators and members of the Asheville area business community for a forum to discuss the 2019 session. I highlighted the three critical differences between Governor Cooper's Proposed Alternative Compromise Budget and the Republican Conference Budget: 1) The economic benefits that Medicaid Expansion would bring to North Carolina versus wasting another $8 billion dollars. 2) The certain, transparent, timely, and fair funding that would come from Governor Cooper's proposed Invest NC Bond versus the exact opposite from the Republican SCIF SCAM. 3) The important differences in teacher pay between the Governor's Proposed Alternative Compromise Budget and the Republican Conference Budget.

ECBI Inauguration

Congratulations to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians for inaugurating strong leadership. Today I attended the ECBI's ceremony to inaugurate Principal Chief Richard Sneed, Vice Chief Alan B. Ensley, and members of the tribal council and school board.

2019 Justice Forum

Jose Antonio Vargas' powerful message in his speech at the Pisgah Legal Service's Justice Forum and his book, "Dear America," echo John F. Kennedy's message to the Greatest Generation in his book, "A Nation of Immigrants." Vargas is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and a leading advocate for immigrants in America today.

Joe Sam's Notes

We are standing with Governor Cooper to uphold his veto of our state's budget for many critical reasons. This is about teacher pay   versus more tax cuts for corporations, a true  school bond   versus a slush fund, and much more. But the most important reason by far is accepting our billions of dollars in Medicaid Expansion funding. Governor Cooper's Proposed Alternative Compromise Budget would fully expand Medicaid this November, while the Republican Conference Budget completely fails to expand Medicaid. We have been very clear about how important Medicaid Expansion is to our whole state. We will not waste another $8 billion. We will not leave 500,000 of our citizens without healthcare. We will not continue to condemn thousands of our citizens to death by denying them healthcare, healthcare we have already paid for. We will not throw away another 40,000 good jobs or close another 5 to 6 of North Carolina's rural hospitals. We will not.

Sincerely,

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P.S. check out our legislative web page at www.joesamqueennc.com . You can find all of my previous newsletters and more!