ASHEVILLE, N.C. — A traveling health care rally stopped in downtown Asheville on Oct. 15, where two Buncombe County state lawmakers used the stage at Pack Square Park to blame federal Medicaid reductions and lapsed insurance subsidies for rising costs in the mountains.
The event was part of a four-week bus tour by the national advocacy group Protect Our Care, timed to the run-up to the Nov. 3 midterm elections. Organizers built the tour around the message that voters are sick of it.
State Rep. Brian Turner, a Democrat who represents part of Buncombe County, took aim at the federal budget law known as the One Big Beautiful Bill. He argued it trims projected Medicaid spending and adds new eligibility hurdles while handing large tax breaks to the wealthiest households, and he warned that people who lose coverage will put off routine care until problems turn into costly emergencies.
State Rep. Lindsey Prather, also a Buncombe Democrat, focused on Western North Carolina. She said 888,000 North Carolinians have seen their premiums double, and that hospitals and clinics across the state face a projected $437 million loss along with a 3.3% rise in demand for unpaid care.
Those numbers matter in a city that serves as the region’s medical center. Mission Hospital, the VA Asheville Healthcare System and MAHEC anchor a major regional medical hub here, drawing patients from rural counties across the mountains.
Speakers also pointed to the end of enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits, which has pushed up premiums for families who buy coverage on the marketplace.
Section: More Asheville NC politics news
Filed under: Asheville NC Politics News
