5 Democratic candidates for NC’s 11th District talk health care

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — As voters in western North Carolina get ready to head to the polls for the March 3 primary, candidates shopping to win their party’s nomination for Congress are outlining where they stand on the issues that matter most. This week, candidates are responding to a series of questions on issues that matter to western North Carolina voters.

Today’s focus: health care.

Five Democratic candidates – Lee Whipple, Paul Maddox, Jamie Ager, Richard Hudspeth, and Zelda Briarwood – shared their views on whether they support subsidies under the Affordable Care Act (ACA/Obamacare) or direct cash-style payments to help Americans afford coverage. Here’s where they stand:

Lee Whipple

Lee Whipple made clear that he supports Medicare for All. Rather than focusing on maintaining or expanding ACA subsidies, Whipple called for a phased-in transition away from the current insurance-driven system.

He argued that large insurance companies have become “bloated” and wasteful, saying they should be gradually trimmed back. Whipple emphasized eliminating policies that deny people coverage and reducing inefficiencies in the system as the country moves toward universal coverage.

Paul Maddox

Paul Maddox described ACA subsidies as a temporary fix rather than a long-term solution. He rejected the idea of one-time cash payments to individuals, calling them insufficient and “a slap in the face.”

“There needs to be some kind of major reform,” Maddox said, arguing that simply handing people money and expecting them to navigate the insurance marketplace on their own is unrealistic. He pointed to the difficulty many Americans face when trying to get coverage.

Jamie Ager

Jamie Ager also called ACA subsidies a “Band-Aid,” though he stressed that they remain necessary in the short term. According to Ager, working families across western North Carolina are struggling, and eliminating subsidies now would only worsen their burden.

While acknowledging that subsidies benefit insurance companies, Ager said immediate relief is critical. He also tied health care reform to the survival of rural hospitals, describing both issues as urgent. “The house is on fire,” he said, emphasizing the need to stabilize families and deliver health care.

Richard Hudspeth

Richard Hudspeth focused on the broader economics of U.S. health care spending. He noted that the United States spends more than $5 trillion annually on health care, more than twice as much as other wealthy nations, yet lags behind in life expectancy.

“For Americans to spend way more and get less is unacceptable,” Hudspeth argued. He called for the adoption of a national health plan, suggesting that systemic reform is needed to improve both costs and outcomes.

Zelda Briarwood

Zelda Briarwood emphasized opposition to what she described as profiting from people’s suffering, particularly in health care. She said she has been conducting a “systematic review” of universal health care systems in other countries to identify policies that could work in the United States.

Briarwood expressed support for universal health care, including Medicare for All, and said her goal would be to bring researched, evidence-based legislative proposals to Congress that draw from successful models in other countries.

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As the March 3 primary approaches, health care remains a major issue in the race. While all five Democratic candidates expressed dissatisfaction with the current system, their approaches differ from immediate short-term relief to sweeping national reform.