Content warning: This story mentions the alleged sexual abuse of a minor, other forms of child abuse and the use of derogatory slurs. By Taylor Knopf A lawsuit filed in Moore County on Friday, Dec. 12, brings renewed scrutiny to a group of residential psychiatric treatment facilities for children and adolescents scattered across central North […]
Posted inHealth Insurance
It took just five years for the State Health Plan’s billion-dollar surplus to become a deficit. What happened?
By Rose Hoban When new state treasurer Brad Briner walked into his new office at the beginning of 2025, he had a problem. After almost a decade of no premium increases for 750,000 state employees and their dependents, outgoing treasurer Dale Folwell had left the State Health Plan — one of the programs embedded in […]
Posted inPrison Health
NC reentry program turns to tiny homes to help women leaving prison
By Rachel Crumpler A barren field in Alamance County will be transformed over the next year into North Carolina’s first tiny home community built specifically for formerly incarcerated women — a new approach to post-prison housing in a state where the need for a stable place to land when leaving prison far outpaces the available […]
Posted inHealth Insurance
To control costs, State Health Plan leaders look to invest in members’ health
By Rose Hoban North Carolina Treasurer Brad Briner has made waves during his first year in office among state employees, who will see a sharp uptick in their health insurance premiums starting next month. Briner says the increase is necessary to address a shortfall in the North Carolina State Health Plan he found when he […]
Posted inPublic Health
Legal aid groups feel pinch of NC legislature freezing millions of dollars
By Lucas Tomae Carolina Public Press Civil legal aid organizations, which provide tens of thousands of North Carolinians with free legal services each year, have been forced to close offices and reduce client intake after the state legislature froze millions of dollars in grant funding to them earlier this year. A small provision in a public […]
Posted inEnvironmental Health
Plastic waste is costing society billions, Duke study finds
By Will Atwater When it comes to the American landscape, litter is nearly as ubiquitous as trees and waterways. Now new research indicates it’s expensive too. A recent Duke University study estimates that litter costs society between $400 million and $1 trillion every year, once public health, environmental and economic damages are factored in. Unlike […]