Trump should reopen federal health insurance markets during the COVID-19 crisis.

As North Carolina’s Commissioner of Insurance for 8 years, I saw firsthand the struggles too many families face due to a lack of access to quality, affordable health care. For many, the financial burden that expensive insurance places on North Carolinians is unsustainable, leading to financial ruin for the sake of one’s physical health.

More than 1 million North Carolinians did not have health insurance in 2018, giving our state the unfortunate distinction of having the 9th highest uninsured rate of any state in the nation.

Sadly, the rate of uninsured people is not a new challenge for our state or our country. We have struggled to address this challenge for decades. But amid the global health pandemic gripping our planet, affordable health insurance is the commodity that supersedes almost everything else.

For all the discord, clumsiness, misinformation and propaganda that has shaped President Trump’s response to this emergency, his most egregious failure has been on the issue he seems to ignore at every opportunity – access to health insurance.

The president has made it clear that he “[doesn’t] take responsibility at all” for the muddled response from the federal government. Instead, he’s put the onus on governors to step up and address the crisis. Many of them, including Gov. Roy Cooper, have risen to meet the moment; but there is one policy step that the president cannot abdicate, because no one else has the authority to do it: reopening the federal health insurance exchanges to give more Americans the opportunity to purchase health coverage.

The consequences of being uninsured in normal times are already stark. Too many Americans are familiar with the uncertainty and risk that comes with not having health insurance – unable to afford it, they risk financial ruin in the event of an illness or accident. But in the age of COVID-19, the consequences of being uninsured are intensely magnified. As our country struggles to ramp up testing and treatment facilities, being uninsured quite possibly means taking your life into your own hands.

As the economic consequences of this pandemic become clearer, with unemployment claims now surpassing 22 million, the need for expanded access to health insurance is greater than ever. As people lose their jobs, their insurance often disappears as well, leaving additional uncertainty and financial unease behind. (However those who lose jobs that provided insurance have an exemption from the enrollment period and can enroll now.)

The administration’s refusal to act thus far is shameful. Failing to reopen these markets is a fundamental abdication of the president’s responsibility to protect the American people. It will endanger the lives and financial well-being of hundreds of thousands of Americans, and only because the man in the White House is trying to make a political point.

Cash payments to taxpayers are a good way to ease the financial pinch many are feeling right now. But if this president truly wants to help American families that may be falling through the cracks, he should reopen the federal marketplace immediately.

Eleven states have reopened their own exchanges in response to the coronavirus. But for many states like North Carolina – which had one of the largest populations of citizens eligible for coverage as recently as 2015 – the federal market is the only option available.

More insured Americans is good for our people, good for our healthcare system, and good for the economy. It means fewer trips to the emergency room, less pressure on our overrun hospitals and greater financial stability for millions of Americans who are grappling with the consequences of a global pandemic and a looming economic downturn.

In moments of crisis, we look to our leaders to put pettiness and politics aside; to step up and put the interests of the public above all else. The clock is ticking on whether the Trump administration will rise to the challenge.

This story was originally published April 26, 2020 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Trump should reopen federal health insurance markets during the COVID-19 crisis.."