Health care for kids

Reported by: Stephanie Beecken

The future of children’s health care is heavily debated by the gubernatorial candidates.

According to one local pediatrician, more than 13% of children in North Carolina are uninsured and many of those with insurance can’t afford to go to the doctor for preventative care.

Megan Miner’s husband lost his job earlier this year. That caused their two children to be uninsured. After months of being uninsured, her kids qualified for Medicaid. “My step-daughter needs to go to a specialist right now for a few visits, and trying to find one who accepted Medicaid has taken almost two months to get those appointments started.”

That is a problem pediatrician Dr. David Hill knows all too well. “If children become uninsured, the numbers of doctors they can see goes way down and there are no pediatric practices in Wilmington except for one that are taking on new Medicaid patients.”

This is only one reason why the future of children’s health care has become a focal point in the gubernatorial race.

“Pat McCrory’s plan focuses on providing a child health insurance income tax credit for families to make it easier for them to buy insurance. And that’s certainly helpful however he doesn’t seem to have a plan to help the families who simply can’t afford it. Bev Perdue’s plan as she’s laid it out has a lot more emphasis on addressing those children who simply have no insurance and can’t afford it,” said Dr. Hill.

Dr. Hill said neither candidate has given clearly detailed plans as to where the money would come from to make their ideas reality. Miner hopes whoever wins is able to help her family.

Preventative care is one of the first things that financially struggling parents cut according to Dr. Hill. He says if politicians could make that care more affordable, money could be saved in the long run by preventing more long term serious issues.