Healthcare

Healthcare Is a Basic Human Right

The League of Women Voters believes the U.S. health care system should provide a basic level of quality health care at an affordable cost to all U.S. residents. Every U.S. resident should have access to affordable, quality health care, including birth control and the privacy to make reproductive choices. 

LWVWake's Healthcare Committee works to educate League members and Wake voters about critical healthcare issues affecting our state and local communities. We advocate for healthcare reform in alignment with current League public policy positions.

The committee welcomes new members interested in fostering an informed electorate which is well prepared to vote on public policies that support access to appropriate healthcare services and promote a healthful quality of life for all residents. Among the topics we’ve covered are Medicaid Expansion, the impact of COVID-19 on general healthcare delivery, the challenges of health inequities, and the emerging behavioral health crisis across North Carolina.  For more information or to join the committee, contact committee chair Retta Riordan.

Email Retta Riordan

Medicaid Expansion

Since 2012, individual states have had the option to expand Medicaid coverage to take full advantage of the Affordable Care Act. North Carolina continues to refuse this opportunity for better healthcare coverage for more people. Without Medicaid expansion, thousands of North Carolinians are unable to qualify for Medicaid and unable to pay for health insurance in the ACA Marketplace or elsewhere. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, this number has only grown, and the lack of coverage disproportionately affects people of color.

Over the past year, this committee has been exploring the issues surrounding Medicaid Expansion and the resultant impacts on affected populations in North Carolina and elsewhere.