North Carolina should close the health insurance coverage gap

byPeg O'Connell, Healthcare analyst and NC SPIN panelist, March 22, 2018

Despite the conventional wisdom, I think one of the issues that will be most hotly debated In the upcoming “short” legislative session will be what our General Assembly should do about finding a North Carolina solution for affordable health insurance for those left in the coverage gap-- those citizens whose incomes are too low to qualify for subsidies in the federal marketplace and are not currently eligible for the state’s Medicaid program.    

My reason for this is two-fold. First, our sister state Virginia, is seriously considering how to solve this issue. Our policymakers always keep an eye on what is happening in Virginia and South Carolina. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly for those who like data and reading political tea leaves, a recent Mason-Dixon Poll indicates an overwhelming majority of North Carolina voters believe that everyone should have access to affordable health care and would support creation of a North Carolina health insurance product for those working people who are in the health insurance coverage gap.

According to the poll, 84% of those asked, responded that everyone in the state should have access to affordable health care. Perhaps more importantly, 71% of those asked would support creating a North Carolina health insurance product for the working poor.

One of the things I find most ironic about this whole debate is, that in a state that claims agriculture as its number one business, how hard the coverage gap hits our farm families. There are many farm families suffering economically and physically because they simply cannot afford to buy health insurance, which means they can’t get the prevention and treatment they need. It is not like a farmer can call in sick and hope that someone will tend his fields or milk her cows. In a state that relies so heavily on agriculture, it is critical that we keep our farmers healthy and their farms thriving. Access to affordable health insurance is a key element to their physical and economic security, as well as the state’s economy.