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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

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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.

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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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STILL STUCK IN THE COVERAGE GAP

June 15, 2021 by Hailey Gutzmer Leave a Comment

by Peg O’Connell

When the American Rescue Plan (ARP) was passed in March of this year, many of us were hopeful that the healthcare provisions in it would be able to close North Carolina’s health insurance coverage gap, but sadly they did not.

Don’t get me wrong, there were many good provisions contained in the ARP. The COVID-19 relief law does expand Marketplace subsidies for those above 400% of poverty and thankfully increases subsidies for those making between 100% and 400% of the poverty level, for two years (2021 and 2022). But, it does nothing to help those at the bottom end of the wage scale—frontline workers, nursing assistants, grocery store clerks and retail workers.  

So, despite millions of dollars of federal aid coming to our state, we still have hundreds of thousands of low-wage working people and their families stuck in the coverage gap with no affordable option to buy health insurance. 

As a reminder, the coverage gap occurs for people who make too much or don’t qualify for state’s Medicaid program, but make TOO LITTLE to qualify for a subsidy on the health insurance marketplace.  It makes me crazy every time I write that.

Let’s look at how this impacts a family of three—a mom with two children.  If the mom is working a full-time minimum wage job at $7.25 per hour, the annual income for that family is $13,920 per year. One hundred percent of the federal poverty level for a family of three is $21,720, so this working mom has no hope of getting a subsidy to help her buy health insurance and could not possibly afford to buy health insurance on the private market place. So, she is still stuck in the gap. This mom would have to work almost 70 hours a week in order to bring her family income up to the level where she could qualify for a subsidy on the health insurance marketplace.

This new federal law will give a two-year boost in subsidies to those who already qualified and will create new subsidies for those making more than 400% of the federal poverty level (that is more than $86,880 for a mom with two children).  This new law will also guarantee access to a plan with a zero dollar premium payment for people with incomes between 100-150% of poverty.  These are all good things, but they are only temporary and not good enough to help our minimum wage mom or her family.

The only fix that can help our mom and her family and hundreds of thousands of low wage North Carolina workers is for our General Assembly to take action and develop a solution to close the coverage gap.  The ARP gives us lots of incentives to do so—we need to do it now. 

Category iconWeekly Blog Tag iconAmerican Rescue Plan,  Frontline Workers,  Workforce,  Working Families

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