As a native North Carolinian, faith leader and educator, I’m encouraged by the recent revelations that NC Senate leader Phil Berger and his colleagues have passed a Medicaid expansion bill through the Senate.
This gives me tremendous hope for the future health and well-being of our state. It further solidifies my belief in the efficacy and power of prayer to bring about reconciliation and justice.
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Currently, North Carolina has one of the highest rates of uninsured people in the country — more than 1 million people. This number represents an untold and unnecessary amount of grief and suffering for hard-working and low-income people.
Now the ball is in the NC House’s court. If they act now they can greatly reduce the number of uninsured North Carolinians significantly by expanding Medicaid.
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Medicaid expansion would increase access to mental health and substance abuse services for children and young adults who have been adversely impacted by COVID-19. It would help address the wave of violence that continues to plague our schools and communities. Our rural hospitals will be able to keep their doors open and keep jobs in our rural communities.
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Medicaid expansion is also a necessary step towards eradicating the health care disparities and discrimination that lead to higher rates of illness and death for African Americans, Latinx, Indigenous and other marginalized communities.
With so much at stake and so much to gain from closing our state’s coverage gap, I urge House Speaker Tim Moore, my Rep. Diane Wheatley, and the rest of the N.C. House to move our state forward in a healthier direction by supporting and passing Medicaid expansion, so we can close our state’s coverage gap once and for all.
The Rev. Dr. Floyd Wicker is an adjunct professor at Shaw University Divinity School in Raleigh. He was the 2019 recipient of the Fayetteville Cumberland Human Relations Commission’s Religious Leader Award.