Families, Democrats urge Republicans to protect Medicaid in North Carolina

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Democrats across the state are calling for the General Assembly to protect Medicaid coverage for hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians after President Donald Trump signed his Big Beautiful Bill into law.

They’re not alone in that push. Families who have relied on Medicaid also want to see it saved.

“[Oliver] weighed 15.5 ounces, which is smaller than a pound; he’s one of the smallest babies to ever make it out of the NICU at WakeMed,” Maddie Wertenberg, a Raleigh mom, said.

Today, her son Oliver, or Ollie, is almost two. He had to fight to make it here after being born three months premature.

“When he was first born, they gave us, we kind of asked them, you know what are his chances, and they gave us between 10% and 20%,” Wertenberg said. “He had everything happen, he had hemorrhage, he had medication, he had to have more blood tests, and x-rays and God knows what else.”

Ollie spent over 100 days in the NICU, racking up a hospital bill of over $1.2 million. Wertenberg and her husband had what she calls good health insurance, but it didn’t cover everything. So they turned to Medicaid.

“I didn’t even know it was an option,” Wertenberg said.

She’s one of many North Carolinians concerned about the future of Medicaid after President Trump signed his Big Beautiful Bill into law.

On Thursday in Downtown Raleigh, Democratic Senator Jay Chaudri says it’s not a Democrat vs. Republican issue, even quoting Republican Senator Thom Tillis, who voted against the bill in Washington.

“Senator Tillis went on to ask, ‘So what do I tell 663,000 people in two or three years when President Trump breaks his promise by pushing people off of Medicaid because the funding is not there anymore?’” Senator Chaudri said.

He says the cuts will have devastating impacts across the state.

“It will put unimaginable pressure on our state budget that will force us to take away healthcare coverage for hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians and close down rural hospitals,” Senator Chaudri said.

Wertenberg was able to bring Ollie home before Christmas, a holiday she says they could enjoy for the first time as a family of three.

“It was nice to just enjoy being home and not have to think, okay, we can enjoy this now, but in a week, we have to come up with these thousands of dollars,” she said.

Now, as she prepares to celebrate Ollie’s second birthday, she’s thinking of other moms and dads relying on help to bring their babies home.

“And then to add on, they might have to go into medical debt or be sent to collections or potentially pay interest on these loans they might have to take out, it’s devastating, and it’s the last thing these families deserve,” she said.

Top Republicans in the North Carolina General Assembly have said they do not believe the bill will close rural hospitals or take away coverage from American citizens. We reached out to Senate Republicans for comment and haven’t heard back.