Dems call on McCrory to allow Medicaid expansion

By Laura Leslie

Posted: February 13

Raleigh, N.C. — House Democrats are calling on Republican Gov. Pat McCrory to rethink his opposition to accepting federal money to expand Medicaid.

House Minority Leader Larry Hall said Wednesday that accepting the Medicaid expansion would bring billions of federal dollars into the state’s economy, creating a projected 23,000 jobs over the next few years.

“The governor and the Republicans are saying, ‘Thanks, but no thanks,’” said Hall, D-Durham.

“They’ve been the party of no for working families,” he said. “No, we won’t help you even though it won’t cost North Carolina a dime. No, we won’t help you even though we concede that it’s the right thing to do.

"No, we won’t make 23,000 jobs available to you and your family so you can support yourself, but yes, we’ll cut off your unemployment benefits," he continued. "Yes, we’ll keep you from being able to qualify for Medicaid so your families can have health care. We think that’s the wrong way to go.”

Rep Jean Farmer-Butterfield, D-Wilson, pointed out that six Republican governors have decided to accept the federal Medicaid expansion.

“This matter should not be partisan, but it is. It’s politics at its worst," Farmer-Butterfield said. "We are making major decisions about people’s lives. Their health care is in our hands. We need to do the right thing by them.”

“We call on the governor to change course on this,” Hall concluded. “Help the working families who are struggling right now, instead of making them victims of this Republican leadership. He’s the governor – he needs to stand up for all the people of North Carolina.”

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Suck it up,, you are in the minority for a reason. The great people of North Carolina are sick of it!!!!

MDL33
February 14, 2013 4:23 p.m.

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Pat McCrory ,I am so glad you won and are sticking to your goals. I appauled and look forward to changes and cuts you make. It is about time.

ccjc
February 14, 2013 9:54 a.m.

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ILoveDowntownRaleigh- Lets also remind people that those 500,000 "poor North Carolinians" you speak of are not freeloaders laying around doing nothing. They are the people out there working for a living at low paying jobs that don't offer health insurance.

dawgitall
February 13, 2013 5:59 p.m.

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indrdw- You need to think that through. When families have health care insurance, in this case medicaid, less of their earnings go to paying medical expenses. That frees up money to be spent on other things that they might otherwise have to do without. So instead of eating roman noodles for supper they have chicken and dumplings. Instead of wearing the same old clothes they buy a new pair of pants and two new shirts. Instead of a piece of toast for breakfast they stop by Bojangles on the way to work. That my friend helps the economy. Businesses hire more workers, expand, remodel. Now do you see? Oh and when our rural hospitals don't lose money because so many of the people that go there for treatment don't have insurance they can make improvements. They hire more medical personnel, add new or improved programs or equipment, improve services. It goes on and on. It isn't about jobs to administer the medicaid program, but freeing up money for free enterprise growth.

dawgitall
February 13, 2013 5:54 p.m.

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"I do wonder on how medicaid money from the feds will create jobs..." - indrdw

Most of every dollar that comes into our state will be spent within our state. And we're talking about one hundred million dollars PER MONTH ($100,000,000.00), all of it going to poor North Carolinians who will spend it immediately.

A better quality of life for five hundred thousand (half a million!) poor North Carolinians, and thousands of jobs for North Carolina.

Nothing our NC Legislature does to create jobs in the coming years will ever make up for this (deliberately) lost opportunity.

ILoveDowntownRaleigh
February 13, 2013 5:38 p.m.

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I do wonder on how medicaid money from the feds will create jobs other than more bureacracy to oversee spending it. We need real jobs not government jobs and borrowed money. It is not free money, it is working peoples money that they have no choice about.