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Care4Carolina

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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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Sign as an Individual

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Sign as an Organization

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Sign as a Civic Leader

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Sign as a Faith Community

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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Close the Coverage Gap to Tackle North Carolina’s Opioid Crisis

October 12, 2021 by Katie Horneffer Leave a Comment

By Katie Horneffer, Intern, Care4Carolina

Every day, five North Carolinians die from an opioid overdose. Each one of these deaths sends shock waves through a community: another friend, classmate, parent, or child lost to this ongoing crisis. Like the rest of the country, North Carolina’s opioid crisis has only gotten worse during COVID-19, as social isolation took a toll and services shut down. Unlike most of the rest of the country, however, North Carolina has still not closed its health insurance coverage gap—meaning that people suffering from opioid use disorder have much more difficulty accessing treatment that could save their lives.

With health insurance coverage, people are better able to access and pay for counseling, medication, rehabilitation, and other services that can help them beat opioid use disorder. Compared to the uninsured, people with Medicaid are nearly twice as likely to receive the treatment that they need. But in North Carolina, about 1/3 of people seeking care for drug overdoses in emergency departments are uninsured. States that have closed their coverage gaps have already seen the positive impact on access to treatment, reporting an 18% drop in the number of people unable to access substance use services.

Research shows that medication is one of the most effective ways to treat opioid use disorder. Medication for opioid use disorder works best if patients continue to use it consistently for 6-12 months. But this medication can be expensive: one type, buprenorphine, costs $160 for a month’s supply. With health insurance, patients can ensure continued access to this medication for the time that they need to beat their disorder. Patients with health insurance are also more likely to be prescribed this medication when they enter a residential treatment facility, since the facility won’t be at risk of picking up the cost. In fact, in states that closed their coverage gap, residential treatment facilities were over 9 times as likely to use medication to treat opioid use disorders. Given the robust evidence around the effectiveness of medication treatment, this means that patients in these states are able to receive higher-quality care for their opioid use disorder.

Beyond improved substance use treatment, closing the coverage gap would increase access to healthcare in general, which could also play an important role in combatting the opioid epidemic. Opioid use disorders tend to go hand-in-hand with mental health disorders; nearly 70% of uninsured adults with an opioid use disorder also report a mental illness. Therefore, this population needs not only opioid-specific services but also greater access to comprehensive healthcare that can help them address other mental health problems. Closing the gap would also increase access to primary care, getting individuals connected to the diagnosis and treatment that they need. Overall, some estimates suggest that closing the gap would help 150,000 North Carolinians with mental health or substance use disorders access affordable healthcare.

This increased access to treatment and other health services would impact the most tragic consequence of the opioid crisis: overdose deaths. States that closed their coverage gap saw a 6% decrease in deaths from opioid overdoses. After Ohio closed its coverage gap, Dayton—a city slightly larger than Wilmington which had one of the highest overdose rates in the country—saw deaths drop by over 50%. Closing the coverage gap isn’t just about opioid use disorder treatment: it’s about saving lives.

For decades, the opioid epidemic has been causing unmeasurable grief, stress, and loss. North Carolina has poured money into addressing this epidemic for years, but we have not yet used one of the most important tools at our disposal: closing the coverage gap. With the recent spike in the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, now is the time to do everything we can to treat opioid use disorder and prevent future suffering.

Category iconWeekly Blog Tag iconGood for Health,  Mental Health / Substance Abuse

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