Raleigh – Writing in Sunday’s Charlotte Observer, NCDP Chairman Wayne Goodwin slammed the Trump administration for its refusal to reopen the federal insurance exchanges through the Affordable Care Act. Goodwin called the administration’s failure to do so “a fundamental abdication of the president’s responsibility to protect the American people” and noted that “in the age of COVID-19, the consequences of being uninsured are intensely magnified.” 

Highlights: 

• For all the discord, clumsiness, misinformation and propaganda that has shaped President Trump’s response to this emergency, his most egregious failure has been on the issue he seems to ignore at every opportunity – access to health insurance.
• But in the age of COVID-19, the consequences of being uninsured are intensely magnified. As our country struggles to ramp up testing and treatment facilities, being uninsured quite possibly means taking your life into your own hands.
• As the economic consequences of this pandemic become clearer, with unemployment claims now surpassing 22 million, the need for expanded access to health insurance is greater than ever.
• More insured Americans is good for our people, good for our healthcare system, and good for the economy. It means fewer trips to the emergency room, less pressure on our overrun hospitals and greater financial stability for millions of Americans who are grappling with the consequences of a global pandemic and a looming economic downturn.

Read the full op-ed HERE