When discussing solutions to lower healthcare costs, the conversation almost always focuses on backend fixes that involve reducing the cost of care and prescription drugs.
Just as important, however, is addressing health issues on the front end.
In North Carolina, more than 1.2 million people, or about one in eight individuals, face limited access to nutritionally adequate food.
1.5 million households don’t have enough to eat, making us the 10th hungriest state in the nation.
And one in five children in North Carolina faces hunger on a regular basis.
Not having access to nutritious foods to meet your basic needs is know as food insecurity, and it is a major driver of healthcare costs.
Heart disease and diabetes, both exacerbated by food insecurity, are the top and eighth leading causes of death in North Carolina, respectively.
In 2019, heart disease in North Carolina led to nearly 113,000 hospital admissions and $6.5 billion in hospital charges. That equates to one hospitalization almost every five minutes and more than $17 million in hospital charges for heart disease each day.
In 2023, 69,000 North Carolinians developed diabetes. The cost to treat Type 2 diabetes in North Carolina is expected to pass $17 billion by next year.
These are added costs to the larger healthcare system, and they drive healthcare expenses higher for families and businesses.
The question then becomes, how can we address food insecurity and help lower healthcare costs in the long run?
One of the best, and most important ways, is by supporting North Carolina’s farmers.
With more than 8 million acres of farmland, and 40,000 active farms, agriculture is our state’s leading industry.
The farm economy, however, is in a challenging state right now. Between drought and flooding, crop output is down while input costs for things like fertilizer and seed are up.
Farm bankruptcies continue.
And from 2017 to 2022, North Carolina lost 8 percent of its farms and almost 325,000 acres of farm land.
Thankfully, many of North Carolina’s legislative leaders have shown themselves to be allies of the agricultural community, working each year to protect and defend our farmers and the services they provide.
Continuing that support, while maintaining a market that is free of burdensome and costly regulations, is a key component to the recovery of North Carolina’s farm economy.
North Carolina’s farmers grow safe, local, healthy foods that we must ensure are accessible and affordable to families around the state.
It’s how we can best tackle food insecurity, and thereby high healthcare costs.
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