MEDIA ADVISORY: Patients and Providers to call on NC General Assembly, Governor to Close the Medicaid Gap

Close the Medicaid Gap Advocacy Day Planned for May 25th

WHAT: Close the Medicaid Gap Advocacy Day
WHEN: Wednesday, May 25th, 8:00 AM-3:00 PM, with press conference at the NCGA at 12:00 PM
WHERE: First Baptist Church, 101 South Wilmington Street, Raleigh, and the NC General Assembly, 16 W. Jones Street

RALEIGH (May 23, 2016) — Patients, healthcare providers, individuals in the coverage gap, and advocates will gather in Raleigh on Wednesday, May 25th, for Close the Medicaid Gap Advocacy Day to raise public awareness and urge lawmakers to close our Medicaid gap. Closing the gap would provide health coverage for 500,000 North Carolinians, create tens of thousands of jobs, and save thousands of lives.

Advocates will gather in the morning at First Baptist Church at 101 South Wilmington Street in Raleigh for a briefing and training on closing the gap, and then spend the day at the General Assembly meeting with legislators.

At noon, advocates will hold a press conference in the press room at the General Assembly on the Medicaid coverage gap. Speakers include Senator Floyd McKissick, Dr. Stephen Luking of Reidsville, Dr. Charles van der Horst of Chapel Hill, and individuals who have been impacted by the coverage gap.

Afterward, advocates will march to the capitol to deliver petitions to the Governor, calling on him to close the Medicaid coverage gap.

“Most people caught in the coverage gap are working, but they cannot afford to buy health insurance on the prevailing wages in industries such as retail, construction, or food service,” said Michelle Hughes, Executive Director of NC Child. “About 100,000 adults in the coverage gap here in North Carolina are parents. By helping these parents access health insurance, we are helping their children grow up in healthy, financially secure families.”

BACKGROUND

• There is a serious potential economic impact of not expanding Medicaid in every county in North Carolina. A 2014 report from the Center for Health Policy Research at The George Washington University, with partners Cone Health Foundation and Kate B Reynolds Charitable Trust (available at www.ncmedicaidexpansion.com) shows that North Carolina could gain $21 billion in federal tax revenue statewide, create 43,000 jobs, and generate $161 million in new county tax revenue between 2016 and 2020 if the state closes the coverage gap.
• Medicaid expansion is a matter of life and death. A 2012 study from the Harvard School of Public Health found that expanding Medicaid by 500,000 enrollees is associated with 2,840 fewer deaths each year. This is the number of people estimated to enroll if North Carolina expanded Medicaid. A 2014 study in Health Affairs noted that if the expansion population is healthier than expected we may see between 455 and 1,145 fewer deaths each year after expansion.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Lee Storrow, Lee@NCAAN.org; Nicole Dozier, nicole@ncjustice.org; Julia Hawes, julia@ncjustice.org, 919.863.2406.