COURTESY CHERI BEASLEY CAMPAIGN

U.S. Senate candidate Cheri Beasley.

Like many North Carolinians, my family knows first-hand how quality medical care can save lives — if you can afford it.

Shortly after our twin sons were born, my husband Curt and I learned that they would need several surgeries and ongoing medical care. We had to fight insurance companies to cover the procedures, and even then, we still had to pay a lot out of pocket—but we consider ourselves among the lucky ones because our sons could get the care they needed. We could make it happen.

But it should not take luck to get the care you or your loved ones need. It should not take luck to deliver a baby safely.
It should not take luck to get the medication you need to live.

It should not take luck to afford the treatment or have a physician you trust. We’ve got to do better.

This year, Black History Month’s theme is “Black Health and Wellness,” highlighting racial disparities in access to health care and the urgent need for action to eliminate it.

The COVID-19 pandemic shed a bright light on the unequal access to care in our state. We know African Americans have and continue to be more likely to be infected and hospitalized by COVID-19. Already in this year, the rate of infections was twice as high and the rate of hospitalization for African Americans was nearly double that of white North Carolinians.

But there have been long-standing barriers to care that have hurt communities of color.

African American women die from breast cancer at a higher rate than women of other races. In North Carolina, African Americans are more likely to die from heart disease. And African American mothers are more than two and a half times more likely to die in childbirth or of pregnancy-related complications than white mothers in North Carolina.

There are clear racial disparities in access to care in North Carolina, and it’s also an issue touching millions of families in our state from different races, communities, and backgrounds.

There are also clear steps that we can – and must – take to improve health care access for all North Carolinians.

For one - the General Assembly needs to pass Medicaid expansion. It’s common-sense. It will provide insurance to more than half a million people and support our rural hospitals.
That would make a big difference to communities across our state – including the people I met in Mitchell County, who have to drive over 1.5 hours down a mountain just to give birth.

But Washington must act to do more. And I’m running for U.S. Senate because it’s past time to get things done for North Carolina.

We can lower costs and expand access to affordable health care by expanding the Affordable Care Act with a public option— this will mean more people from the mountains to our cities and the farmlands to the coast can get affordable care and allow North Carolinians to choose their own physician.

As I travel the state, I hear from people who are going without the medication they need because they just can’t afford it. It is heartbreaking and it doesn’t have to be this way - and an important first step is to allow Medicare to negotiate directly with pharmaceutical companies to lower prices.

There are so many issues that need our attention - from securing access to reproductive care to expanding substance abuse treatment and more. These steps will help, and others will be needed.

But for any of it to happen, we need leaders who will put people first and show that actions speak louder than words.
I’m not saying that this won’t be a tough fight. We’ve seen politicians, including those in our own state, work time and time again to block people from getting the health care they need.

But I’ve never shied away from a tough fight - and I will fight for you and your families just as I have fought for my own. Together, we can build a healthier North Carolina where you can access the care you need no matter what you look like, where you live, or how much money you make.

Cheri Beasley is the presumptive Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in North Carolina.

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