A plan to gut the healthcare system is threatening the growth and sustainability of the economy of North Carolina, but fortunately voters are already lining up to ensure quality medical care and prescription drug coverage for the state‘s 10.6 million residents will thrive and expand.
“Access to health care – doesn’t matter whether you’re a Democrat, Republican or independent – these are real issues all over the state,” Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Cheri Beasley said in a recent interview.
“We have issues that impact our climate and impact people and our livelihoods every single day. These are not partisan issues,” added Cheri Beasley, the former chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court, explained to independent news outlet The 19th.
Judge Beasley knows what she’s talking about. Quality healthcare and affordable coverage are more than just campaign themes for Cheri Beasley and her husband Curt. Shortly after their twin sons were born, the Beasleys learned their boys would need several surgeries, treatments and multiple doctors’ visits over the course of their lives. Along the way, the Beasleys endured fights with heartless insurance companies and budget-busting out-of-pocket costs. Now Judge Beasley wants to take on that fight for all of North Carolina.
“I’m running to represent all of North Carolina—Democrats, Republicans, and independents. I mean, if someone you love cannot afford prescription drugs and they are missing doses and skipping pills, these are not partisan issues,” Judge Beasley emphasized in another recent interview with magazine Vanity Fair.
However, North Carolina men, women, children, workers, and retirees all would see their healthcare coverage evaporate under a plan by Trump pal and MAGA Rep. Ted Budd (R-NC), who is running against Cheri Beasley for the open U.S. Senate seat. When it come’s to Trump’s endless irrational assault on the Affordable Care Act and the North Carolina families it covers, Budd is is a top henchman for Trump.
“I will work to fully repeal Obamacare,” Budd, an election denier who tried to prevent President Biden from taking office, said as he lashed out when Senate Republicans, who unlike Budd declined to carry Trump’s water and decimate the Affordable Care Act.
Budd further showed his contempt for affordable quality healthcare when he repeatedly voted against lowering prescription drug prices, the cost of insulin, and insurance premiums for North Carolina residents.
“With an abysmal record on health care, it is clear that Ted Budd only wants to continue Trump’s war on health care and raise costs on the American people,” said Brad Woodhouse, executive director of the Protect Our Care consumer advocacy group. “He voted against the American Rescue Plan, which delivered lower premiums for millions, he voted against capping insulin costs, and he continues to block Medicare negotiation and expanded access to affordable coverage. Even worse, Ted Budd wants to return to repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act — even as more Americans are covered than ever before. Ted Budd does not represent the hardworking people of North Carolina, and he is not fit to shape our health care laws in the Senate for years to come.”
Add Medicare and Social Security to Budd’s chopping block. Budd backs the GOP Senate campaign agenda written by Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, who outlined a blatant path to killing the benefits programs so important to senior citizens and disabled North Carolina workers.
As we have noted here before, Scott, currently the richest serving U.S. senator and former CEO whose company engaged in one of the largest Medicare fraud scandals in U.S. history (the company he headed was fined $1.7 billion), is using his position as chairman of the National Republican Senate Committee (NRSC) to wage what many people believe is a personal vendetta against the American Safety Net, some say it‘s payback because the company he headed got caught with its hands stealing from the Medicare cookie jar.
As chairman of the NRSC Scott is charged with winning back the GOP majority in the Senate, so his agenda is meant to be gospel to the GOP. He pulls no punches, either, calling for putting sunsets on Social Security and Medicare within five years. He’s since resorted to double talk to try to hide the pain and suffering his multi-point agenda written for Senate GOP candidates will cause.
Following the extremist playbook, Budd’s war on quality healthcare for North Carolina crosses over into the Republicans’ all-encompassing war on women. Budd wants a total ban on abortion, even in the case of rape, incest or threat to a woman’s health, and is an original co-sponsor of a congressional bill that would ban abortion nationally. Not surprisingly, Budd’s position is seriously out of step with North Carolina voters, most of who oppose Republicans taking away the rights of women.
"I can certainly tell you that that even in the smallest rural communities, regardless of party affiliation, people want to talk about abortion access," Judge Beasley told CBS News.
Like Trump, Budd likes to try to talk about the economy, but he avoids the fact that gutting healthcare in North Carolina is not good for business in the state. The healthcare industry pumps more than $54 billion into the state economy. Along with being the cornerstone of providing health and safety, hospitals, healthcare systems, and providers with good jobs with good benefits are anchors in North Carolina cities and towns, serving as an engine for the local economy. North Carolina has also worked hard to establish itself as home to envied cutting edge research and academic medical industry nationally – a well-earned reputation that Budd is willing to threaten for his own political agenda.
Budd could focus on what’s best for North Carolina residents and the North Carolina, but instead he is bent on carrying Trump’s vendetta against healthcare and the GOP’s war on women. On Tuesday, Nov. 8, North Carolina’s voters will decide whether they want what’s best for them or what’s best for Trump.
Written by Ken Bazinet. Ken is a respected, longtime national political reporter and freelance writer based in rural Maryland.