Universal healthcare is a controversial issue, and many pundits are split on whether healthcare should be considered a fundamental right.
The Charlotte Observer reached out to dozens of state leaders in a variety of industries to gauge their opinions on universal healthcare. Here are five of those responses:
Liz Chen, co-founder of MyHealthEd
"In order to achieve universal healthcare, North Carolina's first step should be to expand Medicaid so that more North Carolinians have health insurance and therefore more access to care."
Frank Emory, chair of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina
"I am wary of designating healthcare as a right. Doing so suggests that the citizen has no responsibility for his/her care and the expense of it. It is, however, clearly a public good. Figuring out how to pay for [universal healthcare] would be a critical first step. Second, one would need to determine if 'universal' means anyone within the borders of the state at any given time."
Carol Folt, chancellor University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
"More than 70 years ago, the World Health Organization adopted a tenet in its constitution: The enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition. As a nation, we must be equally committed to these fundamental rights for all of our citizens."
Mark Vitner, senior economist at Wells Fargo
"Healthcare is far too complicated to be solved with sweeping pronouncements, such as making universal healthcare a fundamental right. There is considerable disagreement with what 'universal healthcare' and 'fundamental right' actually mean. North Carolinians should have access to high quality health care facilities, which they largely do. The issue is how you pay for it. I do not believe that North Carolina should emulate the policies of the poorest countries of the world because their circumstances, capabilities and expectations are far different from what they are here."
Kit Cramer, CEO of the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce
"If North Carolina wanted to be a leader in universal healthcare we would not only expand Medicaid, we’d invest in population health and the social determinants of health. There is a lot of research out there to support these approaches."