By Jaymie Baxley Medicaid expansion finally launched Friday in North Carolina, giving an estimated 600,000 low-income residents across the state access to health insurance. Here are answers to some questions you may have about expansion and what it means for the state. Who is now eligible for Medicaid in North Carolina? People ages 19 to […]
Posted inGender health
Q&A on the future of women’s health research
By Rachel Crumpler Despite making up more than half of the population, women have long been understudied and underrepresented in health research. The Center for Women’s Health Research at UNC Chapel Hill has prioritized learning more about diseases, disorders and conditions that affect women only, women predominantly and women differently than men for over two […]
Posted inHealth Inequities
Health care provided in jails likely falls short of community standards, survey says
By Rachel Crumpler On any given day, about 20,000 people are incarcerated inside North Carolina’s county jails. These individuals are more likely than the general population to have substance use disorders, mental health problems, chronic diseases and infectious diseases, according to years of research. Despite the large health care needs of this population, there is […]
Posted inEnvironmental Health
Navassa residents roll up their sleeves to participate in PFAS exposure study
By Will Atwater Usually, the Town of Navassa’s Community Center parking lot is empty on Sundays, but that wasn’t the case the weekend before Thanksgiving. Navassa, a predominantly Black community, is in Brunswick County and gets its drinking water from the Cape Fear River, as does its neighbor Wilmington, which is about six miles southeast. […]
Posted inChildren's Health
Teen sexual extortion cases rising online, NC officials warn
By Jennifer Fernandez As teens spend more time on social media, parents need to watch for signs that they are being exploited, North Carolina officials warn. Between 2021 and 2022, the FBI saw a 600 percent increase in “sextortion” cases in North Carolina, state Attorney General Josh Stein said in a recent webinar. In sextortion […]
Posted inChildren's Health
It’s getting harder to find long-term residential behavioral health treatment for kids
By Aaron Bolton Montana Public Radio, special to KFF Health News HELENA, Mont. — Connie MacDonald works for the State Department at the U.S. consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It’s a dream job, and she loved living abroad with her two sons. But earlier this year, MacDonald said, her 8-year-old son started to become aggressive. […]