CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - After the U.S. House passed the reconciliation bill Wednesday night titled "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," ahead of the U.S. Senate vote, a Charlotte cancer survivor spoke out about how Medicaid may have saved her life.
The bill is aimed at taxes breaks, spending cuts, border security and reducing funding to Medicaid that could affect millions of Americans.
As the bill read Thursday, if passed, Medicaid funding would reduce by $715 billion.
The American Cancer Society reported, the cuts would leave at least 8.6 million people without health insurance coverage that includes cancer patients and survivors.
"[It has] the potential to be catastrophic," explained American Cancer Society North Carolina Government Relations Director John Broome. "I mean, there's just so many cancer patients in North Carolina that rely on this coverage and to kind of take that away once they've, you know, finally are able to get health insurance."
After a decade long effort, in December 2023, Medicaid expanded to an additional 600,000 North Carolina residents and as of May 2025 covered about 3 million North Carolinians, including those battling cancer.
"Health insurance is the number one predictor of a cancer patient's outcome," explained Broome. "Without health insurance, if you have cancer, that's a huge uphill battle. And so in North Carolina, we really want to, you know, protect cancer patients and give them, give them this lifeline that they didn't have before."
Carrie Klamut was part of the North Carolina expansion unexpectedly when she was between jobs and needed health care. At 35-years-old, she said having Medicaid during 2024 likely saved her life.
"I don't know what I would have done without it," explained Klamut who lives in Charlotte.
She was between jobs when she enrolled in Medicaid as a stop-gap for her health insurance. While on Medicaid, she said she started having unusual symptoms.
"I couldn't go to the bathroom for, you know, what felt like hours," Klamut said. "For months or so I discounted what it was. Like, 'Oh well, I had pizza the night before, so, you know, maybe my tummy is just a little upset.'"
Without health insurance Klamut said she would have toughed it out, but because she had Medicaid she decided to go to the doctor.
That is when she learned she had cancer.
"I was one lymph node being positive away from being classified as stage 4," Klamut said.
Doctors diagnosed Klamut with advanced colon cancer that she said she would not have even known about if she did not have Medicaid because she likely would not have gone to the doctor.
"I'm sure I would have delayed care. Because of the cost," Klamut explained. "I know people who you know, they had to sell their house to pay for cancer treatment."
After six months of chemo and more time recovering, Klamut is cancer-free and forever grateful for Medicaid.
"The level of reassurance that having healthcare coverage brings to making medical decisions is [immense]," Klamut said.
So, when she learned about the proposed cuts to the nation-wide healthcare program, she wanted lawmakers to hear her story.
"The level of stress that people who are receiving a cancer diagnosis are under is insurmountable in a lot of ways," Klamut said. "If you do get caught and there is no stop gap coverage for you that like that destroys, it destroys your life."
In Klamut's case, she may not have still been alive to speak out for others.
The American Cancer Society said representatives have been in Raleigh and Washington DC sharing stories like Klamut's for months. A spokesperson for the nonprofit said they will continue to around the clock before the Senate vote that is expected any day.
Broome explained, "We are...working with Senators Tillis and Budd in North Carolina to try to really, really push this message that these cuts will be incredibly harmful for the state."