Josh Stein grew up in Chapel Hill and Charlotte and is a graduate of Harvard Law School, Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and Dartmouth College. He and his wife Anna live in Raleigh, are members of Temple Beth Or, and have three children. He was a member of the state Senate for four terms and has been the North Carolina Attorney General since 2016.
The job
The Governor prepares and presents a state budget, appoints many executive branch officials and members of boards and commissions, has veto power over the legislature.
Our Q&A with Josh Stein:
Thank you for the opportunity to participate in your health care voter guide. My name is Josh Stein, and I am a husband, a father, a proud North Carolinian, and currently the state’s Attorney General. I’ve served in that role since 2017 and as a state senator from Wake County from 2009 to 2016. Now, I’m the Democratic nominee for Governor.
Do you have a plan to help control health care/ pharmaceutical costs?
When health care costs are out of control, North Carolinians have to make terrible decisions between paying for life-saving medications or their bills. I have taken every opportunity to help ease prices for North Carolina families, including taking generic drug manufacturers to court for engaging in illegal price-fixing conspiracies to raise the cost of prescription drugs. As Attorney General, I successfully defended Obamacare before the U.S. Supreme Court, protecting four million North Carolinians with pre-existing conditions, saving health care access for hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians, and keeping prescription drug costs down for more than one million seniors across the state. I’ve also fought to ensure that hospitals are upholding a high standard of care and enforced transparency standards that keep costs in check. There’s more to be done to ensure health care is high-quality, accessible, and affordable, and I will continue to prioritize it as Governor.
Where do you stand on time limits for Medicaid and work requirements for the program?
I support Medicaid expansion in its current form. As we get further into implementation, I will learn about how it is working for North Carolinians and look for ways to improve how it can deliver quality, affordable care to people across our state.
What can North Carolina do to support rural hospitals?
Protecting health care access for rural North Carolinians is critical. We have seen too many rural hospitals close their doors. North Carolina has lost more rural hospitals over the last 15 years than almost any state in the country. That’s why I strongly supported Medicaid expansion. Medicaid expansion has provided a lifeline to many rural hospitals, and Governor Cooper’s medical debt relief plan will provide a more stable source of income for rural hospitals, while also reducing the burden of debt on working class North Carolinians.
I have also been focused on maintaining hospital quality. I sued HCA Mission for its failure to offer adequate emergency and oncology services to the people of western North Carolina – it is not upholding the agreement it signed when it purchased the hospital.
As Governor, I will continue to strengthen rural hospitals, as well as invest in local career and technical education to allow young adults, including those in the medical field, to stay in their communities with secure, well-paying jobs.
PFAS contamination is a state-wide issue; How do you plan to address it?
Every North Carolinian deserves access to clean, safe drinking water. As Attorney General, I have sought to protect North Carolina’s environment by taking on polluters making use of PFAS, colloquially known as “forever chemicals.” I took legal action against DuPont and Chemours, who knowingly contaminated land, air, and water throughout the state using PFAS, including the Cape Fear River and its downstream communities for years. I took on manufactures of fire suppressants which made use of PFAS, and knowingly exposed firemen and military personnel to toxic chemicals. As Governor, I will continue holding these corporations accountable to protect North Carolina’s environment and its people.
Is North Carolina ready for the next pandemic?
Ensuring that our state is prepared for the next pandemic is a constant process. From COVID-19, we learned the importance of collaborating with a variety of stakeholders: lawmakers, scientists, and public health experts. We also saw the importance of treating a pandemic as a public health crisis that requires collaboration and an appreciation for looking out for your neighbor. We must continue investing in scientific innovation and support the work of the NC Department of Health and Human Services to be prepared for any such crisis in the future.
In 2009, Congress required more transparency from hospitals on their charitable work. What role, if anything, can the state have in enforcing requirements for nonprofit hospitals to justify their tax exemptions?
Hospital bills, explanations of benefits, and other health care costs can be confusing – and hospital finances can be even more mysterious. That’s why I’ve fought for transparency in health care, from ensuring compliance with federal regulations to conducting thorough reviews of planned mergers and acquisitions. These transparency measures serve an important role: they allow North Carolinians to shop around with complete information and help improve the competition that keeps costs in check. I support maintaining this pressure and other efforts to bring sunshine into hospitals’ charitable work. As Governor I will continue holding hospitals to a high standard of care and access.
What would you do if the legislature were to keep current abortion rules in place? What would you do if the legislature were to pass a heartbeat bill?
Deciding to have a baby is among the most personal decisions a woman can make. It is a decision that a woman should make in consultation with her loved ones and her doctor. It should not be made by politicians. That’s why I’ve fought back as far-right legislators in Raleigh relentlessly seek to strip women of their reproductive freedoms and their right to make their own decisions about their own bodies, their own families, and their own futures. As Attorney General, I have protected access to reproductive health care for all women, including members of the military. I am also fighting to ensure women can continue to access medication abortions and pushing back against the General Assembly’s highly restrictive and unconstitutional anti-abortion law. As Governor, I’ll continue to defend women’s rights and freedoms because extreme politicians in Raleigh are not done yet – my opponent supports a total abortion ban without exception, not for rape, incest, or the life or health of the mother. As Governor, I will stand up to our far-right legislature and veto any further efforts to restrict women’s reproductive freedoms.
What should/ can the state do to improve access to child care?
North Carolina’s families must have access to affordable, high-quality child care. There are not enough child care spots in our state; on average, five families with babies are competing for every single child care spot. Throughout my career in public service, I’ve repeatedly taken action on child care, and if elected, I would continue to make access to affordable, high-quality child care a priority. As a state senator, I opposed a bill that would have allowed private child care providers to operate without proper licensing and, in turn, weakened accountability and safety for child care centers. In 2020, I urged the Senate to provide at least $50 billion for child care providers in the COVID stimulus bill. In June, I called on the General Assembly to address the child care funding cliff and prevent the closure of more than 1,500 child care centers, and committed to making the child care crisis a priority of my administration if elected. I am committed to working with the General Assembly to increase funding to address the child care funding cliff, including incentives for attracting child care teachers and raising pay. As a North Carolina parent, I understand firsthand the importance of affordable, accessible child care. I’ve also seen how it impacts the workforce first-hand as the leader of the North Carolina Department of Justice. As Governor, I will continue to make supporting families and kids a priority.
What steps would you take to address the mental health crisis and to address the high rate of opioid overdoses?
Mental health struggles affect many among us, and I am committed to helping North Carolinians in crisis get the help they need. Many of the most affected by the mental health crisis are children and young adults, which is why I am part of the leadership group of states suing Facebook and Instagram and investigating TikTok for the damage they have inflicted on our young people. We must also reduce the stigma surrounding these struggles, and reach out to our friends, family, and community members in need. The same applies to the challenge of opioid addiction. In North Carolina, we’ve lost at least 20,000 people to the opioid crisis –20,000 too many – and countless families have been devastated by loss and addiction. That’s why I led a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general from across the country to hold opioid distributors accountable. We secured more than $50 billion in settlement funds – nearly $1.5 billion of which is going straight back to North Carolina to help people struggling with addiction. As Governor, I will continue working with families impacted by the opioid crisis as we invest in prevention, treatment, and recovery.
Is there anything else you’d like our readers to know?
I love North Carolina, and I believe in the promise of this state – if you work hard, where you come from should not limit how far you can go. I am running for Governor to deliver on that promise by investing in our people and their futures and building a state with a thriving economy, safe communities, and strong schools. Working families in North Carolina need affordable and accessible health care, job opportunities no matter their geography, strong public schools, and safe neighborhoods. As your Governor, I will work to deliver the economic security and peace of mind that every North Carolinian deserves by lowering costs, raising the minimum wage, and cutting taxes for working families. I will work to build safe communities by confronting the fentanyl crisis, recruiting and retaining well-trained law enforcement officers, and passing common-sense gun violence prevention measures. And as a state, we must also recommit to funding our public schools and raising teacher salaries. We must invest in career and technical education so North Carolinians can access high-quality job opportunities, whether they pursue a college education or not, and we must ensure our schools have the support staff that they need for our students to thrive.