Political notebook: Two Salisbury educators talk health insurance with governor

In a round table discussion with Gov. Roy Cooper and Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy Cohen, early childhood professionals from across North Carolina, including two from Salisbury, shared stories of how the health care coverage gap is negatively affecting their colleagues.

Cassandra Brown and Dora Wood, both Salisbury early childhood teachers, joined nine others to speak about their concerns about the lack of access to health care among early childhood educators and urged legislators to expand Medicaid.

“We place a lot of trust and responsibility in the hands of early childhood educators, and it’s heartbreaking to hear about how many of them can’t afford health care,” Cooper said in a news release last week. “Our child care and pre-K teachers should be healthy so they can focus on preparing our children for lifelong learning, and it’s time we expanded Medicaid to help half a million North Carolinians access affordable health care.”