WS Chronicle

Ahead of former President Donald Trump’s rally in Wilmington that was focused on “the economy,” physicians from across North Carolina gathered virtually to raise concerns about how Trump’s health care policies would make care more expensive and harder to access for patients statewide.

The doctors discussed how Trump’s plans to repeal the Affordable Care Act, roll back the Inflation Reduction Act, and restrict access to reproductive health care would increase financial and medical hardship for patients in North Carolina. 

“Donald Trump claims he wants to help Americans with economic relief, but his policies around health care do the exact opposite,” said Dr. Howard Mell, an emergency medicine physician in Cornelius. “Health care is an economic issue. It impacts every aspect of my patients’ lives. Nobody should have to go into debt just to get the care they need to live. But under another Trump presidency, this could become even more common.” 

Dr. Mell also warned about the expensive and preventable consequences of unaffordable health care, saying, “When I have a patient who could not afford [an appointment] with their primary doctor, by the time they come to see me in the emergency department, it’s a true emergency and a costly emergency that didn’t have to happen.”

Dr. Amelia Sutton, a maternal-fetal medicine physician in Charlotte, shared her concerns about Trump’s stance on reproductive health care. “Trump’s vision would make reproductive health care more expensive and more dangerous,” Dr. Sutton said. “We’ve already seen the tragic consequences of abortion bans in other states, like the death of a 28-year old mother in Georgia who was denied timely care. We cannot let Trump’s extreme policies take root in North Carolina.”

Dr. Sutton also cautioned that Trump’s support for defunding organizations like Planned Parenthood would further restrict access to essential services like cancer screenings and STI testing for millions of patients. 

“Our patients deserve affordable, comprehensive care, not the political interference that makes health care more dangerous and harder to access,” Dr. Sutton concluded. “Trump’s policies are a direct threat to the health and safety of North Carolinians, especially women and families.”

The doctors urged North Carolinians to recognize the risks Trump’s health care policies pose and protect access to affordable, comprehensive care in the state. 

About the Committee to Protect Health Care:

The Committee to Protect Health Care is a national mobilization of doctors, health care professionals, and advocates who are building a pro-patient health care majority in Congress and in states so that we can live in an America where everyone has the health care they need to thrive. To learn more: www.committeetoprotect.org.