'Washington is broken': Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Roy Cooper pledges to fight for affordable health insurance, Medicaid expansion

"Washington is broken,'' former North Carolina two-term governor Roy Cooper said to a small Greensboro group Thursday during a stop on the Democrat's US Senate campaign trail to discuss health care with residents and doctors.

"We live in the richest country in the world. We ought to find a way that everyone has quality, affordable health care,'' said Cooper, who as governor championed legislation that expanded Medicaid coverage for more than 700,000 North Carolinians who had been ineligible for affordable health insurance.

"And that is going to be a mission for me when I go to Washington — battle the insurance companies and make sure Washington steps up and unlocks the key to affordable health care, especially in North Carolina where people need it most,'' said Cooper, who on March 3 faces Republican Michael Whatley in the state primary election. Whatley heads the national Republican Party and has enjoyed an endorsement from the president.

The two are vying for the seat left open by Thom Tillis (R) of North Carolina, who in the wake of being criticized by Trump, announced in June he would not seek reelection.

Cooper, who gathered with a dozen people at Providence Baptist Church on Tuscaloosa Street, further said he would seek to restore affordable premium rates for the Affordable Care Act.

"We know that with the One Big Beautiful Bill (Act), they have put all of our Medicaid expansion at risk,'' Cooper said of Republican leadership. "They also cut off federal subsidies and now the Affordable Care (Act) Marketplace has seen a substantial drop this year in the number of people who can get insurance.''

Last year, nearly 1 million state residents were covered by the ACA, but the cuts have reduced that number to just over 700,000, a 22% decrease, Cooper said. "It's because many people simply cannot afford the premiums.''

Rural hospitals also can count on Cooper's protection if he wins the Senate seat, he told the group Thursday.

"We have 99 rural hospitals open across our state and that is critical,'' he said. About 33% of North Carolina's population, or 3.47 million residents, live in rural areas, according to the US Census.

But keeping residents insured is the only way to preserve the smaller outlying hospitals, Cooper said.

"A big help to them has been the fact that 715,000 people now have health insurance because of Medicaid expansion,'' Cooper said. "And the rural parts of the state benefitted from that more than anywhere else. They needed it the most. I want to make sure we roll back the risk factor that the One Big Beautiful Bill has put on Medicaid expansion.

"In order to keep rural hospitals open, we need insured patients being treated there. So maintaining health insurance for people and expanding health insurance I think is the number one effort we can make right now to keep our rural hospital doors open.''

North Carolina employers, especially small business owners, are having difficulty affording quality health insurance for their workers, passing costs along in higher premiums, Cooper said.

And Medicare premiums have soared, as well, Cooper said, pressing seniors on fixed incomes to cut corners on already lean budgets.

Family physician Shannon Banks of Greensboro echoed Cooper's concern about senior patients. Some are "forced to decide: do I pay for my medication this month, or do I eat?'' Banks told the group.

Red tape from insurance companies further stymies patients and staff in doctor's offices, said Joel Gallagher, an allergy and immunology specialist who serves patients in Greensboro and Reidsville.

He described an artificial intelligence system used by one insurance company that routinely denied standard medications and procedures to his patients for no apparent medical reason.

And Gallagher said insurance companies are making it more and more difficult to obtain prior authorizations — green lights for procedures or medications that confirm insurance will cover them.

"Prior authorizations are taking up a lot of time from the staff and the patients,'' said Gallagher, who estimated staff spent 15% of their time negotiating such approvals and denials.

Wholesale denials may be a way insurance companies are trying to save money, the governor suggested.

"What it looks like to me is that they know enough people won't jump through all the hoops,'' Cooper said. "And (then) they don't have to pay.''