North Carolina

Opinion | It’s time for the GOP to end this desultory anti-Obamacare crusade

Published

2 years ago

March 7, 2023

Opinion | It’s time for the GOP to end this desultory anti-Obamacare crusade

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13 years after the passage of the Inexpensive Care Act, North Carolina is poised to turn into the fortieth state to increase Medicaid below the regulation, because of the persistence of Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and a rising recognition by Republican legislative leaders that their rural base has probably the most to achieve. A breakthrough settlement will increase health-care protection to an estimated 600,000 residents who make an excessive amount of to qualify for the normal Medicaid program, which predated the ACA growth, however too little to qualify for sponsored non-public plans on the Obamacare marketplaces.

North Carolina gives a blueprint for breaking the logjam within the 10 remaining holdouts of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin and Wyoming. Rural hospitals in every of those locations have struggled as a result of so lots of their sufferers lack medical insurance, which suggests they don’t get reimbursed except the state picks up the tab. However GOP lawmakers in these states have held out in a dogged, partisan protest of the ACA, for which their constituents pay.

In locations such because the western mountains or the southeastern Sandhills area of the Tar Heel State, as many as 1 in 5 adults are uninsured. A December ballot confirmed 78 % of North Carolinians in favor of Medicaid growth, together with 64 % of Republicans. The enterprise neighborhood has been strongly supportive.

Nonetheless, this hard-won compromise took years to hash out. Senate chief Phil Berger (R), who was lengthy one of the outspoken critics of growth, first expressed openness to a deal within the fall of 2021. Each the state Home and Senate handed payments final yr to increase Medicaid, however negotiations fell aside. After 10 months of principally behind-the-scenes talks, and a marathon session one night time final week, Mr. Berger and Home Speaker Tim Moore (R) agreed to reform state legal guidelines that carefully regulate North Carolina’s medical trade, loosening guidelines to make sure the availability of suppliers will sustain with demand as protection will increase.

Paul Waldman and Greg Sargent: The GOP’s epic defeat on well being care is laid naked in North Carolina

The federal authorities pays 90 % of the price of Medicaid growth, leaving the state answerable for simply 10 %. Beneath the deal, hospitals will cowl that share by way of assessments levied by the state. The lobbying group for the hospitals, the North Carolina Healthcare Affiliation, endorsed the ultimate deal due to sweeteners, together with the Healthcare Entry and Stabilization Program, that may offset new prices. “If you put a pen to the again of a serviette, it’s a web break even at worst,” mentioned Mr. Moore, the Home speaker. “A web constructive, frankly, when you do the maths.”

Sadly, the ultimate deal doesn’t embody a scope of apply provision that will have let nurse practitioners, as an alternative of docs, deal with sufferers with sure illnesses. That may have lowered prices and expanded competitors amongst certified medical professionals. However the lobbyists for the physicians saved it out. It might nonetheless be adopted in a stand-alone invoice subsequent yr.

In an interview, Mr. Cooper credited help from regulation enforcement officers, particularly the North Carolina Sheriff’s Affiliation, for creating momentum to get a deal completed. “Their deputies are coping with psychological well being sufferers, having to spend time with them and taking them to emergency rooms once they should be doing their jobs,” he mentioned. “They acknowledge that they shouldn’t be doing this, and so they related the dots that Medicaid growth can assist alleviate that.”

The largest hitch at this level is that Republicans within the legislature plan to incorporate Medicaid growth as a part of a broader price range package deal on the finish of the session. That may not go till the summer time, which might delay the efficient date. Extra regarding is that it will increase the percentages of a poison tablet getting added to the price range, maybe an abortion ban or everlasting limits on the governor’s powers — that Mr. Cooper would really feel compelled to veto.

Along with $8 billion in federal cash that may move yearly to North Carolina, federal incentives included in pandemic aid laws imply that the state can nonetheless gather a further $1.8 billion if a deal will get by way of this yr. Mr. Cooper used his State of the State deal with, delivered Monday night time, to induce instant passage. He emphasised that the state forgoes $521 million a month in federal funds whereas ready for ultimate passage. “No enterprise would make that sort of monetary choice,” he mentioned.

Mr. Cooper is true. It’s time to get this completed — and never simply in North Carolina, however in each different GOP-run state that has refused, for no good cause, to disclaim Medicaid protection to its working poor.

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Editorials characterize the views of The Put up as an establishment, as decided by way of debate amongst members of the Editorial Board, primarily based within the Opinions part and separate from the newsroom.

Members of the Editorial Board and areas of focus: Opinion Editor David Shipley; Deputy Opinion Editor Karen Tumulty; Affiliate Opinion Editor Stephen Stromberg (nationwide politics and coverage, authorized affairs, power, the setting, well being care); Lee Hockstader (European affairs); David E. Hoffman (world public well being); James Hohmann (home coverage and electoral politics, together with the White Home, Congress and governors); Charles Lane (international affairs, nationwide safety, worldwide economics); Heather Lengthy (economics); Affiliate Editor Ruth Marcus; and Molly Roberts (expertise and society).

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North Carolina

Key Ole Miss Transfer Target Thaddeus Dixon Chooses North Carolina Over Rebels

Published

30 minutes ago

January 19, 2025

Press Room

Key Ole Miss Transfer Target Thaddeus Dixon Chooses North Carolina Over Rebels

The Ole Miss Rebels have made strong moves in the transfer portal this offseason, but the program missed out on a key contributor on Saturday when cornerback Thaddeus Dixon pledged to the North Carolina Tar Heels.

Ole Miss was in the race late for Dixon, but a deciding factor in his decision to join the Tar Heels may have boiled down to Carolina’s hiring of former Washington assistant Armond Hawkins as defensive backs coach. Dixon is a transfer from the Washington Huskies, so familiarity in his new home likely played a role.

BREAKING: Washinton transfer CB Thaddeus Dixon has committed to North Carolina, @Hayesfawcett3 reports🐏https://t.co/pcXs7hjbOS pic.twitter.com/6g5D02NC7V
— Transfer Portal (@TransferPortal_) January 18, 2025

READ MORE: Will Ole Miss QB Austin Simmons Continue Playing Baseball in 2025?

So, where do the Rebels go from here? Ole Miss has already gained some key pieces in its secondary out of the transfer portal (including CB Jaylon Braxton of Arkansas), but Lane Kiffin’s team will probably still be seeking some help in the defensive backfield as the transfer portal continues to move.

According to On3’s current transfer portal class rankings, Ole Miss has the third-best haul in the country, behind Texas Tech and Missouri. The Rebels have seen 23 players transfer into the program so far this offseason, and that number could continue to grow between now and kickoff of the 2025 season.

Ole Miss opens its 2025 campaign on Aug. 30 at home against Georgia State.

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North Carolina

Thaddeus Dixon Joins in Husky Exodus to North Carolina

Published

8 hours ago

January 18, 2025

Press Room

Thaddeus Dixon Joins in Husky Exodus to North Carolina

In a postseason recruitment that was raw and revealing at times, where decorated cornerback Thaddeus Dixon suggested in social media postings that University of Washington football fans wanted him to come back more than the coaches, apparently received all the assurances he needed at North Carolina.

On Saturday, the senior defensive back from Long Beach, California, told On3 he would join the Tar Heels for his final season of college football, adding to a growing list of one-time UW players and coaches headed to Chapel Hill.

So far, the departing group includes linebacker Khmori House, safety Peyton Waters, wide receiver Jason Robinson Jr., defensive coordinator Steve Belichick and defensive analyst Armond Hawkins, all moving from Montlake to the ACC.

The 6-foot-1, 187-pound Dixon would have given the Huskies three highly accredited corners, joining fellow UW starter Ephesians Prysock and Arizona transfer Tacario Davis, to fill out a secondary that could have had few equals this coming season, and still might.

BREAKING: Washington star transfer CB Thaddeus Dixon has Committed to North Carolina, he tells @on3sports
The 6’1 195 CB totaled 69 Tackles, 16 PD, 1 FF, & 2 INT in 2 seasons with the Huskies
Ranked as a Top 10 Player in the Portal (No. 2 CB) per On3https://t.co/RlUbB6EMhS pic.twitter.com/bePHJU7wP7
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) January 18, 2025

Dixon reportedly took recruiting visits to Mississippi and North Carolina, and fielded overtures from Michigan, before settling on the Tar Heels.

The disconnect for Dixon appeared to show up when the Huskies landed a portal commitment from the 6-foot-4, 190-pound Davis, a second-team All-Big 12 pick this past season, presumably to take his vacated spot.

The 6-foot-4, 193-pound Prysock and Davis teamed together at Arizona in 2023, with both earning All-Pac-12 honorable-mention accolades.

Dixon originally was supposed to run out of college eligibility when the season ended, hence the Huskies went looking for cornerback help, but the NCAA gave the veteran an extra year when it changed the rules governing players with junior-college backgrounds. He came to the UW from Long Beach Community College.

One of the Huskies’ top individual success stories this past season, Dixon went from a back-up player in 2023 to unseat returning starter Elijah Jackson, who opened all 15 games for the national runner-up team.

Thaddeus Dixon soaks up the moment after an Apple Cup interception. / Skylar Lin Visuals

Moving into the lineup, Dixon started 12 of 13 games and received All-Big Ten honorable-mention honors for Jedd Fisch’s coaching staff. He had a team-best 10 pass break-ups, an Apple Cup interception and several textbook tackles in the open field. He’s easily made himself into an NFL prospect.

With three accomplished cornerbacks, the Huskies could have picked two starters and put the odd man out at nickelback.

Dixon clearly wasn’t going to go that route at the UW, likely figuring his past performance should have provided him with more cornerback guarantees.

For the latest UW football and basketball news, go to si.com/college/washington

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North Carolina

Bill Belichick's girlfriend seemingly shuts down rumors coach will leave North Carolina for NFL

Published

16 hours ago

January 18, 2025

Press Room

Bill Belichick's girlfriend seemingly shuts down rumors coach will leave North Carolina for NFL

Bill Belichick’s girlfriend on Thursday seemingly shut down any talk of her boyfriend leaving the North Carolina Tar Heels football program for a job in the NFL.

Jordon Hudson responded to rumors that suggested Belichick had one foot out the door when it came to his Tar Heels gig. Belichick had been rumored to be interest in coaching the Dallas Cowboys, but the head coaching job wasn’t open until he had already committed to North Carolina. CBS Sports reported that Belichick didn’t sign his contract with the school.

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Oct. 26, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey: Former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and girlfriend Jordon Hudson enter the field before the game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Navy Midshipmen at MetLife Stadium. (Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images)

She posted a photo on her Instagram showing the two posing with a football and Belichick dressed in Carolina blue.

“Pictured: two people who are overtly committed to @uncfootball,” she wrote as the caption.

Michael Lombardi, who is the general manager of the North Carolina football program, also threw cold water on the rumors of Belichick jumping back to the pros.

EX-NFL COACH JON GRUDEN RIPS STATE OF COLLEGE SPORTS

Dec. 12, 2024; Chapel Hill, NC: Jordon Hudson, the girlfriend of Bill Belichick, in attendance at Loudermilk Center for Excellence. (Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images)

“Bill is recruiting in DC today, and Baltimore tomorrow. His focus is on North Carolina football, hiring staff members and developing the team. The NFL isnt a option so please stop making it one. Thank you,” he wrote on X in response to the CBS Sports report.

“The reception towards UNC and Coach Belichick has been amazing from every school we visit. We are going to fight to keep North Carolina players here and bring the best to Chapel Hill,” he added.

Belichick was hired as the Tar Heels’ coach in December. He called the job a “dream come true.”

Bill Belichick fields questions from media

The North Carolina Tar Heels’ new head coach Bill Belichick speaks to the media at Loudermilk Center for Excellence. (Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images)

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“I’ve always wanted to coach in college football,” Belichick said in his introductory press conference. “It just never really worked out. Had some good years in the NFL, so that was OK. But this is really a dream come true.”

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