North Carolinians Can’t Afford Health Care as Insurance Companies Rip Off Working Families, DC Takes Away Coverage and Health Care Costs Skyrocket
RALEIGH, NC – Today, Roy Cooper hosted a roundtable discussion in Charlotte on the high costs of health care and discussed how insurance companies line their pockets and Washington takes away coverage while North Carolinians are struggling to make ends meet. The discussion covered how health care costs are out of control and the hurdles that insurance companies throw up at every turn to prevent people from receiving the care they need. This comes as DC politicians cut Medicaid and refuse to renew the ACA subsidies, making things even worse and sending health care costs skyrocketing for millions of North Carolinians.
“North Carolinians are struggling, and instead of working to make life easier, insurance companies and Washington DC leaders are leaving them behind, putting special interests ahead of hardworking families,” said Roy Cooper. “As Governor, I fought to expand Medicaid for hundreds of thousands of working North Carolinians, helping to lower health care costs for everyone. While Michael Whatley cheers on Washington as they make things worse, I’ll be focused in the Senate on making life more affordable for North Carolinians.”
Governor Cooper was joined by Chairman of the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners Mark Jerrell, a former physician, and small business owners.
Governor Cooper has been laser-focused on lowering health care costs for North Carolinians. In 2023, Governor Cooper assembled a bipartisan coalition to expand Medicaid to over 700,000 North Carolinians, lowering costs for everyone. Medicaid expansion also provided a lifeline for rural communities, bringing an influx of critical federal funding to help keep rural hospitals and emergency rooms open. Governor Cooper also created a first-in-the-nation solution to help relieve more than $6.5 billion in medical debt for over 2.5 million North Carolinians, many of whom are in debt because insurance companies refused to pay legitimate medical bills, and to prevent this debt from accruing in the future.
Meanwhile, DC insider Michael Whatley cheered on Washington Republicans as they refused to renew ACA subsidies last year and has championed the idea of “market-driven solutions” which would eliminate the landmark health care legislation and let insurance companies charge people more for worse care. Now, North Carolinians face skyrocketing health care premiums on top of other rising costs.
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