North Carolina’s Medicaid Expansion is a Step in the Right Direction

This March, North Carolina passed a statewide referendum on Medicaid. This ballot measure, per Gov. Roy Cooper, will offer more than 600,000 North Carolinians increased access to Medicaid services. Though the American Solidarity Party supports universal healthcare, this does not mean such incremental measures cannot be celebrated. In fact, in our progress toward a healthcare system that promotes the flourishing and well-being of individuals and communities, we can look to the state of North Carolina as a guidepost. There are three policy priorities North Carolina has pursued that are worthy of emulation. 

First, the North Carolina law prioritized rural communities. Rural North Carolinians are 40% more likely to go without insurance and significantly less likely to see a doctor. Over the past eight years, six rural hospitals have closed due to insufficient funds. The NC Medicaid expansion employs the federally funded Health Access and Stabilization Plan (HASP) to direct more funds to these rural hospitals. This partnership will inject more than $60 million into rural healthcare, potentially saving the nearly 30% of rural hospitals which have been deemed vulnerable to closure due to financial reasons. More hospitals open means more people getting their needs met in a timely manner. The referendum also promoted measures intended to incentivize doctors and nurses to practice in rural communities. In this way, the state has taken major steps toward healthcare access for a large section of its most vulnerable citizens. 

Second, the referendum more than quadrupled dollars directed toward postpartum care. This expansion included increasing the time that mothers on Medicaid are eligible to receive care from sixty days to a full year. As a party with a consistent pro-life ethic, we seek the flourishing and well-being of both mother and child, including in the days, weeks, and months after birth. Ensuring access to postpartum care is part of what it means to create a culture of life. 

Finally, advocates for the ballot measure have emphasized supporting resources for mental health. More than one quarter of all medical dispatches in 2021 were uninsured persons struggling with a mental health issue. While the new Medicaid expansion does not create new programs specifically targeting mental health, it does ensure coverage for thousands of North Carolinians experiencing mental health problems that might have otherwise gone without treatment. Health is a matter of mind as well as body, and this too is consistent with a consistent ethic of life in health care policy. 

Certainly, these policy changes are far from perfect. However, we ought to celebrate progress in the proper direction. Moreover, these areas of policy emphasis in North Carolina can serve as a blueprint for other states in the Union as they craft their own Medicaid expansion plans. Together, we can build a nation that cares for each of its citizens in solidarity.