If you have health insurance through your employer or if you’re self-insured, that’s great. Thank you for being part of our health care system. It’s easy to think that since you have coverage, this issue doesn’t affect you.

Except it does. Every single month.

The way the system works is we all pay for the uninsured. It’s been that way for a long time. This “hidden tax” is paid for through higher medical costs and higher insurance premiums.

It didn’t have to be this way.

In 2013, the North Carolina General Assembly and the governor rejected the expansion of Medicaid, creating the coverage gap. So while North Carolina has done a fantastic job enrolling people in health insurance plans, via the ACA, and reducing the number of uninsured, there is still a huge group of people, around 500,000, who have no access to health care coverage.

The people who are in the coverage gap, and would be eligible for Medicaid plans if expanded, are now forced into either unaffordable private insurance or the emergency room for their care. This is a lose-lose situation for everyone. Those in the gap end up with more expensive care and generally poorer health outcomes. For everyone with insurance, premiums go up to cover those higher costs—you end up picking up the tab.

It can change.

It’s not too late to expand Medicaid in North Carolina. Now is the time to put pressure on our state leaders to act. Closing the coverage gap is the right thing to do for all North Carolinians. Here’s how you can help:

• Write letters to your senator, your representative and Governor McCrory. You can find them here.
• Add your name to the Close the Gap petition. The best tool we have is our numbers and our networks—relatives, friends, neighbors, co-workers. If we gather enough people, in every legislative district across the state, our elected officials will have to listen.
• Follow our social channels—Facebook & Twitter—for news, to stay on top of what’s happening, and to see when the next event will be held in your area.