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Dear Colleagues,
Perhaps the majority of Italian-American families have relatives in New Jersey. (Despite the picture painted by Hollywood, almost all of these folks are honest and hardworking.) So, it was no surprise to get a recent call from my cousin in Trenton. Her message, however, took be by surprise.
She said that she knows that I have spent a career in advocating for improved access to health care for all Americans, and particularly for children. She was calling to thank me for any part I had played in securing passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). She said that she had just learned that her thirty year-old son – whom I recall has had chronic poor health – would soon receive health insurance for the first time in years because, under Governor Christie’s leadership, New Jersey is expanding its Medicaid program. I could hear the relief in her voice.
She said she was also calling because she had heard that North Carolina is choosing not to expand Medicaid, even though the federal government is covering all the costs in the first few years. Realizing that I would be greatly disappointed with that decision, she wanted to remind me that low-income people all across the country would have increased access to health care, and that I should feel good about that.
After thanking her and hanging up, I realized that she is exactly right: I have been so disappointed with our leaders here that I forgot that millions of people in other states will be benefiting from the advocacy so many of us did that finally led to passage of the ACA.
So, my dear colleagues, take solace in this message.
And to all North Carolinians who are paying federal taxes for Medicaid expansion in other states while it does not occur here, thank you for helping low-income people like my cousin’s son. With continued advocacy and prayer, perhaps our leaders will soon agree that our taxes should be used to cover North Carolinians as well.
Tom Vitaglione is senior fellow for health and safety at Action for Children North Carolina.