Health Care: Affordability & the UNC Cancer Center

Walter Dalton views his Chairmanship of the Appropriations Committee as something more than allocating state funds. It is a real opportunity to inject vision and foresight into our state’s budget, to ensure that our tax dollars are being wisely spent, and to address our most vital concerns like affordable health care. In the North Carolina Senate, Walter has been an ardent supporter of the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to provide health coverage to uninsured children; he pushed forward legislation to create Senior Care – helping 120,000 seniors afford prescription drugs; and gave small businesses tax credit for providing health insurance to their employees.

This past session, Walter Dalton led the fight for the landmark appropriation to the UNC Cancer Center in the 2007 budget. It was a visionary move that will save lives, improve quality of life, create jobs, and establish our state as the leader in the fight against cancer.

Here are the highlights of Walter’s work in health care and on the UNC Cancer Center appropriation:

 

Making Health Care Affordable

• Developed a high-risk insurance pool to reduce cost for those most in need.
• Voted for mental health parity – so that mental health diseases are covered by insurance companies.
• Was the lead sponsor of legislation that gave small businesses tax credits to provide health insurance for their employees.

UNC Cancer Center

• Over $180 million investment in developing the NC Cancer Hospital – which when completed will be the best public cancer hospital in the country.
• This money will transform cancer research and the University of North Carolina’s clinical and public health efforts to prevent, detect early, and treat cancers across the entire state.
• It will serve North Carolina through research in three broad areas: a statewide cancer assessment and prevention program; groundbreaking basic and translational research; and multidisciplinary clinical care and research teams.
• Expand our state’s economy by adding high quality, high paying medical field employment opportunities and through research and development investments.