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Sign as a Business Leader

As a North Carolina business leader, I endorse the following statement:

We, as North Carolina business leaders, understand that a strong economy and a thriving workforce require healthy families. Right now, too many hard-working families are uninsured. In fact, about two-thirds of all uninsured adults in North Carolina work. They are construction workers, farmers, child care providers, and even veterans. We urge the North Carolina General Assembly to achieve a bi-partisan solution to close the health insurance coverage gap. Now is the time to act. There are proposals on the table that would require no investment of state tax dollars and closing the gap would create an estimated 37,000 jobs and billions in economic activity. Much of this economic activity would benefit our rural communities and other areas most in need of an economic boost. Closing the health insurance coverage gap is a good deal for the health of North Carolina families and for our economy. We urge you to work together and achieve a policy solution that closes the health insurance coverage gap.

Business Leaders for Closing the Coverage Gap

By signing this statement you are granting permission to Care4Carolina to publicize your endorsement. Your personal information will only be used for the purposes of this public endorsement statement and will not be shared with any other entity. Personal contact information will not be shared in endorsement statements listings or ads. Employer affiliation will be used for identification purposes only. For example: “Mr./Ms./Mrs. John Doe, CEO, ABC Corporation*; Anytown, NC”.

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Faith Leaders Addendum

As a North Carolina faith leader/ community of faith, I/we endorse the following statement:

We, as people of faith in North Carolina, believe that the Lord brings good news to the poor, binds up the broken-hearted, and comforts all those who mourn. We believe that when we work to ease the burdens of our neighbors who are struggling the most, we are caring for God. And, we believe we are called to follow our God by doing good, not only in the halls of our congregations, but by seeking justice in the wider world.

That means we cannot stand silent when presented with the opportunity to provide healthcare coverage for hundreds of thousands of our brothers and sisters. We understand that a community cannot flourish while its people lack access to affordable, quality healthcare. Healthy families are the bedrock of our communities of faith and of our local economies. Uninsured North Carolinians include members of our congregations, pastors, child care providers, farmers, construction workers, small business owners, neighbors, and friends. We urge the North Carolina General Assembly to work together across bi-partisan lines to close the health insurance coverage gap for all of these children of God.

Signing Disclosure

By signing this statement you are granting permission to Care4Carolina to publicize your endorsement. Your personal information will only be used for the purposes of this public endorsement statement and will not be shared with any other entity. Personal contact information will not be shared in endorsement statements, listings, or ads. Employer information will be used for identification purposes only. For example: “Rev. John Doe, Pastor, ABC Church, Anytown, NC.”

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Sign as a Grassroots Group

As legislation progresses to enact a North Carolina solution to close the health insurance coverage gap, it is critical that we have a grassroots team ready to mobilize. By signing up as a member of the Care4Carolina Grassroots Action Network, you agree to activate your group/organization when action is requested during the campaign. Action requests may include but are not limited to reaching out to legislators, sharing posts on social media, and relaying information to other contacts.

Your work as a grassroots group/organization is essential to our efforts, and Care4Carolina appreciates your support in ensuring that our mission is achieved. Together, we will find a North Carolina solution to close the health insurance coverage gap.

*By signing on as a member of the Care4Carolina Grassroots Action Network, your group/organization’s information will not be shared externally. The information collected through this form is for internal use only.

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Coverage Gap Profile: Gentle Harmony Farm

July 26, 2019 by Erica Palmer Smith Leave a Comment

Charles Leonard knows how important access to health care is for North Carolinians—and especially for those living in rural communities.

“That’s one of the reasons we moved here,” he says from the 1842 farmhouse that he and his wife, Pam, own in Davidson County. It’s even more important to Charles, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in the spring of 2018.

“If I didn’t have health-care insurance, I would not be in the position I’m in now,” he says. Charles is in the sixth month of a two-year clinical drug trial at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center to treat his illness. “I fortunately have Medicare and we can afford Blue Cross coverage,” he explains, “but had I not had insurance, I would not have gone to the doctor, I wouldn’t have been diagnosed, I wouldn’t be part of this trial.”

And he knows others in rural North Carolina aren’t as fortunate.

“Davidson County has sufficient population density, as a bedroom community for Greensboro and Winston-Salem, where they’re not closing the hospitals like they are down east.” But even though medical care is geographically accessible, it is not always financially so.

Charles has seen that firsthand on Gentle Harmony Farm, the three-and-a-half-acre herb farm he and Pam have owned and run since 2008. He’s lost a couple of good employees over the years because they couldn’t afford health insurance and the Leonards weren’t able to offer it to them.

One young man took a job at McDonald’s to get coverage. And a current employee, who works part-time at the farm during her summers off as a teacher, will lose coverage this year when she leaves the classroom. “I don’t know what she’ll do when her coverage lapses,” he says, his concern for her wellbeing evident in his voice. “She’s gonna wing it, which is not good.” 

Charles is joining other North Carolina farmers to urge state lawmakers to close the health-insurance coverage gap, which would allow his workers to afford insurance. “Affordable, accessible health care is vital to local economies. It’s vital. Without it, people move away, you lose talent base.” 

The Leonards didn’t set out to become farmers.

In 2008, the couple was living in Atlanta, where Charles was a graphic design professor and Pam was the executive director of a university’s restorative justice program. They wanted to retire and leave the big city life. A family tie led them to the North Carolina Piedmont and, specifically, the farmhouse in Davidson County. “We decided we’d come up here and look at it.”

They fell in love with the home, bought the property, and thought they’d mainly use it as a place for long weekends and family gatherings. A year later, they were growing cover crops. Pam had studied herbalism, and the Leonards thought they might want to start and organic herb farm. By 2012, the farm was certified organic and the couple had moved to the property full-time. “We started with many, many, many different herbs,” Charles says. “We’ve narrowed it down.” 

Now, they grow two annuals and a group of perennials—everything from dandelion and lemon balm to motherwort and echinacea. They planted 4,000 herbs this year. Charles mans the walk-behind tractor—taking apart the gear box to make repairs when it breaks down. “It’s good for me to do that,” he says.  

But since his Parkinson’s diagnosis, “the heavy work is now falling on the younger people,” including the Leonards’ daughter and a few seasonal employees. “It’s a lot of hand work, a lot of weeding,” he says.

Charles cares for those employees, and he wants to ensure they have the same access to health care that he does.

“We’re very fortunate,” he says. “We know that.”

Category iconCoverage Gap Profiles Tag iconFarmers,  Gentle Harmony Farm,  Rural

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