World Relief Durham, Triad Issue Response to Passing of HB 696, Urges Reinstatement of Support for Vulnerable NC Residents 

Durham, N.C. — Today, World Relief Durham and World Relief Triad issued a response to the recent passage and signing into law of HB 696, which reduces access to essential Medicaid-facilitated health care services for vulnerable women and children, including many legally present refugees. Adam Clark, executive director of World Relief Durham, and Meagan Khliefat, office director of World Relief Triad, issued the following joint statement:  

“While we are grateful for the people who will be helped by the General Assembly passing and the governor signing into law HB 696 to fund Medicaid, World Relief Durham and World Relief Triad are disheartened by what is not included in the law.  As a Christian humanitarian organization that serves refugees, we are concerned that the stricter verifications to Medicaid enrollment will discourage refugees and other immigrants from seeking out services. 

“We are also alarmed by changes that could potentially eliminate health care coverage for 27,000 pregnant women and children, many of whom are refugees and thereby legal residents of our state. These are displaced people, made in the image of God, who have entered our nation for safety at the invitation of our government only to be cast back into vulnerable situations. 

“We call on the General Assembly to advance legislation immediately that would correct these failings. The health and welfare of all North Carolinians, especially those in vulnerable conditions, should be the concern of our lawmakers.” 

To learn more about World Relief Durham, visit worldrelief.org/durham/ 

To learn more about World Relief Triad, visit worldrelief.org/triad/ 

About World Relief   

World Relief  is a global Christian humanitarian organization whose mission is to boldly engage the world’s greatest crises in partnership with the church. The organization was founded in the aftermath of World War II to respond to the displacement crisis in war-torn Europe. Since then, for 80 years, across more than 100 countries, World Relief has partnered with local churches and communities to build a world where families thrive and communities flourish. Since the 1970s, World Relief has partnered with local churches to welcome and serve hundreds of thousands of refugees and other immigrants throughout the United States. To learn more, visit  worldrelief.org