By Jaymie Baxley When Medicaid expansion was signed into law earlier this year by Gov. Roy Cooper, it was widely heralded as a transformative event for uninsured people in North Carolina. Amid the bipartisan celebration, there was little mention of the hundreds of thousands of existing enrollees who are expected to lose Medicaid coverage before […]
Posted inMedicaid
What to know about Medicaid unwinding in N.C.
By Jaymie Baxley A federal provision that prevented states from kicking Medicaid participants off the rolls for the first three years of the COVID-19 pandemic has expired, leaving an estimated 300,000 North Carolinians at risk of losing coverage in the coming months. The so-called unwinding of the continuous coverage mandate will require the N.C. Division […]
Posted inChildren's Health
Trans youth rights in jeopardy, advocates warn
By Jennifer Fernandez GREENSBORO — Bills that would limit gender-affirming care, prevent trans youth from competing in sports and require schools to tell parents if a child wants to use other pronouns represent “an unprecedented attack” on trans rights in North Carolina, Ellie Harleen Isley told a crowd at a Trans Rights Rally in downtown […]
Posted inEnvironmental Health
Biden administration, NC advocates align to combat plastic pollution
By Will Atwater Distance runners must develop two critical traits: mental toughness and the ability to focus on the big picture when obstacles such as fatigue set in. These are characteristics that runner and problem-solver Crystal Dreisbach has found valuable in her career tackling environmental issues. Dreisbach is involved in a decade-long marathon to establish […]
Posted inChildren's Health
A striking gap between deaths of Black and white babies plagues the South
By Lauren Sausser KFF Health News BAMBERG, S.C. — Years before the Bamberg County Hospital closed in 2012, and the next-closest hospital in neighboring Barnwell shut its doors in 2016, those facilities had stopped delivering babies. These days, there’s not even an ultrasound machine in this rural county 60 miles south of Columbia, much less an […]
Posted inChildren's Health
Children in crisis: State report card focuses on mental health issues among youth
CONTENT WARNING: This article references suicide. Please take caution when reading. If you need mental health support, please consult this page for resources. By Jennifer Fernandez The struggle with mental health issues for North Carolina’s children worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report. And significant disparities exist among student groups, with LGBTQ+ […]