STATEMENT: Flawed NC Health Care for Working Families bill forces people to jump through unnecessary, harmful hoops to gain coverage

RALEIGH (April 9, 2019) – With the NC Health Care for Working Families bill now introduced in the North Carolina House, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have finally and importantly recognized the urgent need to close the coverage gap for hundreds of thousands of uninsured North Carolinians. We are pleased to see our lawmakers recognize that far too many of their constituents cannot access treatment without fear of medical debt and even bankruptcy.

However, NC Health Care for Working Families would create financial and administrative obstacles for people who stand to gain coverage, blocking many North Carolinians from the health care they need. It would charge costly premiums to low-wage workers who are already living paycheck-to-paycheck and struggling to make ends meet. It would also take health care away from working families unless they report their work activities, despite the fact that only recently a federal judge ruled against similar requirements that left nearly 18,000 Arkansans uninsured.

We hope lawmakers continue to recognize the need to close the coverage gap, but that they do so without imposing barriers on enrollees that will limit the coverage gains, economic benefits, and fiscal savings to ensure the greatest benefit to everyone in our state.