A new poll from West Health and Gallup found that half of all Americans are concerned that if someone in their family faced a major health crisis, they would go bankrupt. As the U.S. just surpassed six million COVID-19 cases, many North Carolinians are worried how they would be able to pay for care if a member of their family got sick. 

This survey highlights the importance of health care in the North Carolina Senate race. And the contrast couldn’t be more clear — Cal believes health care should be available to all North Carolinians regardless of their income or where they live. He has been an outspoken advocate for expanding Medicaid, as well as protecting and strengthening the Affordable Care Act. 

Cal has repeatedly called for Congress to pass a Medicaid expansion incentive to make sure states like North Carolina receive the 100 percent federal match regardless of when they expand. In a recent interview with WLOS, Cal said “We need to make sure that all of our people have quality and affordable health care. That means expanding Medicaid.”

In sharp contrast, Thom Tillis has spent his career chipping away at health care coverage for North Carolinians. Senator Tillis bragged about his decision to block Medicaid expansion as Speaker of the North Carolina House and still struggles to defend his decision which has left 634,000 North Carolinians in the coverage gap during a global health crisis. 

Just last week, Tillis tried to explain away why he opposed providing critical health care coverage for North Carolinians even as he stands behind the GOP lawsuit that threatens to dismantle the Affordable Care Act and could take Medicaid expansion off the table. 

North Carolinians need a Senator, now more than ever, who will work to provide accessible and affordable health care so no family has to worry about going bankrupt because of a medical crisis. 

The Hill: Half in new poll concerned major health event will lead to bankruptcy

By Marina Pitofsky – September 1, 2020

• Half of all U.S. adults are concerned that a major health event among those in their household could lead to bankruptcy, according to a new poll.
• The survey, based on a study from West Health and Gallup, found that the percentage of adults who said they were “concerned” or “extremely concerned” about a major health event leading to bankruptcy has gone up from 45 percent in 2019 to 50 percent in 2020. 
•  Sixty-four percent of nonwhite adults in the survey said they were concerned that a major health event for someone in their household could lead to bankruptcy, compared to 52 percent who said the same last year.
• Among white survey respondents, that number increased from 41 percent in 2019 to 43 percent in 2020.
• Fifty-five percent of survey respondents ages 18-29 agreed that they were concerned or extremely concerned, compared to 43 percent who said the same last year
• The study also found that 15 percent of U.S. adults polled said they or someone in their household currently has medical debt that they will be unable to repay in the next 12 months. Over one-quarter of survey respondents said they would need to borrow money to pay for a $500 medical bill.