Governor Stein Urges Senate to Oppose SNAP & Medicaid Cuts to Protect North Carolinians' Health

Raleigh --  In a letter to U.S. Senators Tillis and Budd on June 6, Governor Josh Stein outlined the ramifications of the U.S. House reconciliation bill for families in North Carolina, including Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) cuts.  Nearly half a million

North Carolinians may lose their health care as a result of that bill and the upcoming expiration of healthcare marketplace subsidies. 

According to recent modeling estimates, the House Bill's Medicaid provisions alone could result in 255,000 North Carolinians losing their coverage. A Kaiser Family Foundation study estimated that if Marketplace subsidies end at the end of 2025, the House Bill's Medicaid and Marketplace changes would raise the state's uninsured population to an estimated 470,000.

According to estimates, the House plan would potentially deny health coverage to 255,000 North Carolinians.  Additionally, the U.S. House measure includes provisions that might imperil Medicaid expansion's enhanced federal matching funds (FMAP), which could result in the abrupt termination of health-care coverage for the more than 650,000 North Carolinians who will benefit from Medicaid expansion.

Governor Stein urged Congress to reverse the projected Medicaid cuts in a letter he sent in March.  He has met with people all around North Carolina to hear their experiences and learn about the effects that Medicaid cuts will have on hospitals, healthcare providers, and enrollees, particularly those in rural areas.  Medicaid is essential for the state's most vulnerable citizens, such as children, the elderly, and those with disabilities; any changes would jeopardize both their health and the security of the state's healthcare system.

Proposals to transfer up to 25% of SNAP food benefit expenses to the states would require North Carolina to either reduce essential nutrition services or find $700 million a year to make up the gap.  These new restrictions, together with an increase in administrative cost sharing from 50 percent to 75 percent, will negatively affect local communities' economies in rural counties, which are already overburdened throughout the state.  North Carolina's economy benefits from SNAP to the tune of $2.8 billion, which also helps local farmers, grocers, and the wider food distribution system.  

The state is forced by the U.S. House Bill to choose between taking funds away from public education, police enforcement, and economic development or making an intolerable trade-off between basic food assistance and health insurance coverage.

WNCTimes

Image: WNCTimesGovernor Stein urges the Senate to oppose SNAP and Medicaid cuts and protect North Carolinians' health.