Biden and Harris team up for health care program in North Carolina

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will promote their health care agenda on Tuesday in North Carolina, a battleground state where Democrats are expected to swing in favor of Donald Trump after trailing him in the last two presidential elections. Is.

Fourteen years after President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act, the White House still views health care as a must-win issue during a campaign where Biden sometimes found himself on the defensive. immigration Or economy, Republicans have opposed Biden’s signature initiative to reduce medical costs, and they have seized opportunities to restrict abortion rights after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

“It’s the split screen on health care that you’ll see on clear display,” said senior advisor Anita Dunn. President Biden, Vice President Harris and Democrats want to expand access, make health care more affordable for all, and protect reproductive freedom. Republicans want to gut health care, raise prices, and take away even more of the basic reproductive freedoms that are already in danger.

North Carolina is Biden’s final stop on his tour of battleground states after the State of the Union earlier this month, which began a crazy itinerary As the Democratic president launches his bid for a second term in a possible rematch with Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee.

This state is also a health care success story for the President. The American Rescue Plan, a pandemic recovery measure signed by Biden, included financial incentives for states to expand Medicaid coverage to low-income residents. North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, a Democrat, was able to use that money, which amounted to $1.8 billion, to persuade Republican lawmakers to go along with his plan. over 600,000 inhabitants Expected to qualify.

Biden and Harris’ visit comes on the same day the US Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments in a case access to mifepristone, a widely used abortion pill. A final decision could further restrict access to abortion.

The White House has tried to make mifepristone more available as one of its few opportunities to protect women’s ability to terminate their pregnancies.

Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, “We will continue to fight against unprecedented attacks on women’s freedom to make their own health decisions.”

After speaking about health care in Raleigh, Biden and Harris will also attend a campaign fundraiser in the city. He has built a significant cash advantage over Trump $155 million cash on hand At the end of the first quarter of the year. Trump had $37 million,

Biden’s approval rating on health care is among his highest on many issues, but he is in the water there too. According to 1 february referendum According to the Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, 42% of American adults approve of Biden’s health care management while 55% disapprove.

Health policy research firm KFF conducted its own survey in November and found that 59% of American adults trust the Democratic Party to do a better job on health care affordability issues. Only 39% said the same about Republicans. There was a similar divide in belief when it came to mental health care, prescription drug costs and the future of the Affordable Care Act, Medicare and Medicaid.

Maryland Governor Wes Moore said, “I’m a person who believes that good policy is also good politics, when people feel there are policies that are helping and benefiting them in their communities, So now you have loyal supporters.” A Democrat.

Moore said she sympathized with voters who did not believe Biden had made a significant impact on issues such as health care, but did support the administration on policies such as lowering prescription drug prices and limiting the cost of insulin. Emphasized on the record.

“Nothing happens by accident, it happens because you have leaders who are making it a priority,” he said.

Despite campaigning since 2016 on a promise to repeal the Affordable Care Act and replace it with something else, Trump has never detailed his health care proposals.

“The costs of Obamacare are out of control, plus, it’s not good healthcare. I’m seriously considering alternatives,” he wrote in a post on his Truth Social site in November.

However, healthcare has not been a major issue in his 2024 campaign as Trump instead focuses on immigration, inflation, and wars in Europe and the Middle East.

Polls show there is a tight race between Biden and Trump this year, and the Democrat is hoping to carve out another potential path to victory in North Carolina.

Although Democrats have failed to win a US Senate seat or presidential race since 2008, Trump defeated Biden by just 1.3 percentage points in North Carolina in 2020. The White House has repeatedly highlighted federal injections of money for transportation, rural broadband and other initiatives. While sending top administrative officials to the state.

Democrats also want to exploit weaknesses among Republican candidates for statewide offices. For example, the party’s candidates for governor and state superintendent of schools, Mark Robinson and Michelle Morrow, have a history of inflammatory comments.

“We’re looking at a Republican slate at the statewide level that is loaded with MAGA extremists that will ultimately hurt Republicans’ chances of winning back the state,” State Senator Jay Chaudhary of Raleigh, the chamber’s Democratic whip, said Monday. in an interview. “As we get closer to November, I think the independents who are key in winning the state will see how extreme the Republican ticket is from top to bottom.”

Democrats hope that the largest category in the state, unaffiliated voters, will cool to Trump based on concerns that his election along with Robinson and Morrow could raise questions about businesses relocating to a state that is currently experiencing an economic boom. Is riding.

Democratic Governor Cooper said last week, “It is clear that the Republicans have nominated several candidates who want to push us back into the culture wars.” “And Donald Trump is on top of it, running a train on it.”

Associated Press writers Gary Robertson in Raleigh, North Carolina, Jill Colvin in New York and Darlene Superville, Amelia Thomson-Devoke and Matt Brown in Washington contributed to this report.

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