A Statement from the Executive Director of the Western Carolina Medical Society

On behalf of the Western Carolina Medical Society (WCMS), as executive director, I would like to address today’s United States Senate vote for the budget mega bill. The bill will now be sent back to the United States House of Representatives for further review, amendments, and voting. Let me be clear: WCMS does not receive federal grants, nor do we have any intention of seeking or accepting federal funds at this time. We raise private dollars through foundations, businesses, and individual donors. Our agency serves neighbors who need us the most through Project Access, our program that coordinates free specialty care for those ineligible for Medicaid in Buncombe and Madison Counties.

Here is what is at stake in North Carolina if this bill passes unchanged in the United States House:

$39.9 billion will be cut from NC Medicaid over 10 years, threatening coverage for 670,000 North Carolinians, mostly in rural communities. The Congressional Budget Office has stated that nearly 12 million Americans could be uninsured by 2034.

$420 million in SNAP costs would be shifted annually to the State of North Carolina. If our state cannot pay up, 1.4 million North Carolinians would be at risk of hunger.

Since Medicaid expansion in North Carolina in late 2023, more than 620,000 North Carolinians have enrolled in the program. North Carolina Medicaid provides health care to eligible low-income adults, children, pregnant women, seniors, and people with disabilities. Many of these North Carolinians are our neighbors in western North Carolina. For these individuals and their families, today’s news and the fear of losing healthcare are devastating loads to carry.

At Western Carolina Medical Society, our budgeting processes are thoughtful, and our relationships are strong. We have multiple programs to serve our region and are intentional about the security and sustainability of those programs. Please know that WCMS started in 1885 and Project Access Program began in 1996. The nation and our community have changed in countless ways over the years but we, working together with our generous donors and providers, have withstood the tests of time and will continue to do so.

We call upon our neighbors to hold each other up in the spirit of humanity and togetherness. Use your voices. We ask our large network of care providers, for whom we are grateful each day, to continue to stand with us and our neighbors.

Karen Wallace-Meigs
Executive Director
Western Carolina Medical Society