Editorial: Failure to expand Medicaid in N.C. hinders response to opioid abuse crisis

We find it hard to believe that any North Carolina lawmaker would vote to prevent Medicaid expansion for 500,000 fellow citizens. It must be sheer ideological bias and blinding hatred of Obamacare. But that is exactly what is happening now in North Carolina.

The legislature’s prohibition against expanding Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act has cost North Carolina $10.9 billion since 2014. At the same time, North Carolina taxpayers are helping subsidize Medicaid coverage to millions of low-income adults in 32 other states.

There is no logic to this callous neglect. But there are REAL costs.

Don’t let anyone try the flimflam that it’s saving North Carolina taxpayers. Not only do we send money to other states to pay for their health insurance, we’re missing out on creating jobs here in this state – an estimated 61,295 in the last four years. We are willing to spend billions to get that many jobs with Amazon.

“The decline in non-expansion states (like North Carolina) was a much more modest 5 percent, from 17.3 percent in 2013 to 16.4 percent in 2015.” Treatment in North Carolina could be especially critical since the rate of deaths from opioid overdoses is increasing faster in North Carolina – 24.7 percent since 2015 – than any of our neighboring states except Virginia.

There is no justification for this outrage. It is shameful.

November can’t come soon enough.

BY THE NUMBERS: COST OF DENYING HEALTH INSURANCE IN N.C.