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should be used
to ease burden of Medicaid
If the state wants to find ways to spend its $2 billion surplus on something useful, it should look no further than providing Medicaid relief for poor counties.
Columbus County was forced to spend $5.8 million in matching funds -- an unbelievable 29 percent of the money collected from property taxes -- on the federal health program in fiscal 2005-2006. The 29 percent is the third highest in the state because nearly one in three county residents qualifies for Medicaid.
The county expects to spend $6.3 million next year, according to figures provided by the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners.
Mecklenburg County, the wealthiest county in the state, spends only 2.9 percent of its property tax collections on Medicaid.
When the state’s leaders talk about eliminating the gap between the rich and the poor, the Medicaid inequity is on the top of the list.
To make this even worse, North Carolina is the only state in the Union that makes counties ante up for Medicaid expenses.
The $5.8 million that Columbus County residents must pay for Medicaid could otherwise be spent on a host of other badly needed items. Our schools come to mind first and foremost.
Fortunately, there are bills in both the House and Senate that address this inequity, but Gov. Mike Easley’s budget proposal does not include Medicaid relief for counties.
County Medicaid expenses across the state have increased by 80 percent since 2000. This cannot continue unabated. Unless there is Medicaid relief for counties like Columbus, residents can expect higher taxes and less money allocated for essentials like education.
We urge Rep. Dewey Hill and Sen. R.C. Soles to fully get behind bills that will end this travesty.