Non-profit organization hosts health care town hall in Asheville

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — Advocates gathered in Asheville for a Health Care Town Hall on Thursday night. They said they're coming together to stress the importance of affordable health care for all North Carolinians.

It was put on by a non-profit organization called Piedmont Rising.

Community members, lawmakers, activists and experts joined the organization at the Dr. Wesley Grant Sr. Southside Center in Asheville.

Rep. Susan Fisher started off the town hall by providing an update from Raleigh on the ongoing debate surrounding Medicaid expansion.

Following that, staff from Piedmont Rising presented statistics on the state of health care in North Carolina, the latest developments in health care policy and the impact it could have on families here.

News 13 spoke with one mother who shared her story. Leslie Boyd lost her son, Mike, in 2008.

"When you withhold access to care for people, real people die," Boyd said.

She believes affordable health care could have saved her son's life.

"We just need to get care to everybody. I’m not a policy maker. I don’t care what it looks like. It just has to work, and it has to work so that people can afford it and not die from lack of access because they don’t have enough money to cover a $3,000 deductible before they can see a doctor," Boyd said.

Research done by Piedmont Rising shows 54,000 people in Western North Carolina could lose access to health care if the Affordable Care Act is repealed.

"All of the health care issues and the access people face across the country, like, everybody feels them. But in rural areas, they’re especially profound, and I think it’s an important part for people here and across the state to remember," said Natalie Niemeyer, Piedmont Rising research director.

This town hall was the first in a series of meetings that will be held statewide.

Piedmont Rising plans to release a North Carolina Rural Healthcare Report in a few weeks.