‘We need action’: Medicaid recipients and advocates call on lawmakers to provide funding ...Middle East

John D’Angelo, chair of the North Carolina Council on Developmental Disabilities, said “none of us want to be here today,” but the stakes for those who rely on Medicaid require their advocacy at a rally in Raleigh on Oct. 21, 2025. (Photo: Brandon Kingdollar/NC Newsline)

More than 200 people gathered in downtown Raleigh Tuesday morning to call for more Medicaid funding before heading to the legislature to make their pitch directly to lawmakers.

A coalition of health care providers and Medicaid recipients — including representation from 25 statewide organizations — met on Jones Street to hear the stories of North Carolinians affected by the Oct. 1 cuts to Medicaid reimbursement rates and prepare to share their experiences with state legislators who have so far declined to fully fund the program.

Advocates were hoping to convince state lawmakers to fully fund Medicaid services as part of a Medicaid Day of Action. Funding for the program in the most recent spending bill fell $319 million short of what the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services said was required for the coming year.

DHHS cited that shortfall as its reason for instituting cuts to Medicaid reimbursements ranging from 3% to 10% across all services on Oct. 1. Republicans argue that the cuts are not needed and that DHHS could have continued full reimbursements until additional funding was passed.

“Funding Medicaid is a moral issue. Funding Medicaid is a bipartisan issue. It reaches across the aisle,” said Tim Rogers, CEO of the Association for Home and Hospice Care of NC. “North Carolina is better than this.”

Speakers who shared their stories ranged from those with physical and developmental disabilities and their families to those who receive Medicaid support for mental health issues such as substance use disorders.

John D’Angelo, chair of the North Carolina Council on Developmental Disabilities said “none of us want to be here today,” but with the health of so many at stake, they have no choice.

“This is a challenging time for the disability community and Medicaid, but there are no better advocates than everyone in this room because you all understand the stakes through your lived experiences,” D’Angelo said.

Addiction Professionals of North Carolina Executive Vice President Morgan Coyner, herself five years in recovery, warned that the loss of access to support services through Medicaid will lead some to overdose.

“Today, with the unpredictable and poisoned drug supply, this is more dangerous than ever. And I know this personally: I lost my mother to a fentanyl overdose in 2019.” Coyner said. “There are lives on the line, and we need to do something about it.”

The Medicaid cuts also endanger the unhoused community, said Johnnie Thomas, who said he depended on therapists and doctors as he worked to restabilize after roughly three decades of homelessness.

“They went bipartisanly across the lines and they gave us Medicaid expansion that helped hundreds of thousands,” Thomas said. “They’re trying to take that away. I’m asking them, why would you do this?”

In an interview after the rally, Kathy O’Loughlin of Chapel Hill said she came to advocate for her daughter, a Medicaid recipient who has complex medical issues after a brain aneurysm at 14 months old.

“We do use services, and they help her access the community, classes, get Medicaid services,” O’Loughlin said. “Without those services, it’s harder to get in the community, it’s harder to give her medical attention that she needs.”

Ada Elizabeth Gil Jiménez, a member of the Consumer and Family Advisory Committee with several medically complex conditions, said lawmakers need to ask themselves how many lives they’re willing to risk.

“I’m not someone who will spin it just to make someone feel nice about themselves’” Gil Jiménez told NC Newsline. “Right now, we need action. Right now, we need money. Right now, people’s lives depend on it.”

After the rally, Chris Hendricks, a member of the NC Council on Developmental Disabilities, said he felt energized that so many came to support Medicaid and speak to lawmakers.

“As a person with an intellectual disability, at times, we can feel alone — we certainly didn’t feel alone today,” he said.

But so far, lawmakers have not stepped in to help.

Though Republican legislative leaders convened the General Assembly Tuesday to pass new congressional maps aimed at flipping another House seat to the GOP, the Senate declined to take action on Medicaid, despite repeated Democratic calls to do so.

“There are hundreds of people in this building right now — there are thousands of people across the state who are going to lose access to services. There are small providers across the state who are going to lose their businesses if we don’t do something by November 1,” Sen. Lisa Grafstein (D-Wake) said on the Senate floor. “I’m objecting that we’re adjourning today without taking care of that very important piece of business.”

After Tuesday’s session adjourned, Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) told reporters the cuts made by NCDHHS were not necessary.

Medicaid is usually funded through the state budget, but House and Senate Republicans are at an impasse in negotiations, and the budget is more than three months late.

Efforts to provide additional Medicaid funding in a separate bill are also at a stalemate over what should be included in it. While Senate Republicans want money for a children’s hospital in Apex and rural health care funds included in the bill, their counterparts in the House oppose funding for the hospital.

“I hope it’s resolved with us reaching an agreement to handle the money that’s needed in Medicaid, and the other things that have been previously agreed to that need to be followed through on,” Berger said.

Late Tuesday, House budget chair Rep. Donny Lambeth (R-Forsyth) shepherded a bill through the House Rules committee to allow the Stein administration to use up to $190 million in Medicaid reserve funds to cover the cuts. However, Berger said earlier Tuesday the Senate would not hold another voting sessions this week.

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