Closing The Coverage Gap – NC Medicaid Expansion Update

Last week, NC Senate leadership passed legislation to close the health insurance coverage gap. The Senate’s action is a major step toward helping hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians without health insurance. H.B. 149 Expanding Access to Healthcare is now awaiting action by the NC House.

The Foundation for a Healthy High Point supports efforts to close the insurance coverage gap. Over 12% of High Point workers do not have health insurance as part of their compensation. This group includes service workers, small business owners, child-care providers, and veterans. They are parents raising small children. In Guilford County alone, closing the gap would bring 2,076 new jobs and $682.8 million in new business activity.
 
Notably, Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger, a longtime opponent of the Medicaid expansion, endorsed NC Health Works in a press conference last week, saying, “We need coverage in North Carolina for the working poor.”

Please see this fact sheet for more information about how closing the insurance gap will positively impact High Point and Guilford County residents and visit Care4Carolina for more information about how you can support these efforts now.