Jaymie Baxley, Author at North Carolina Health News

Melanie Bush, the interim deputy secretary of NC Medicaid, addresses lawmakers in Raleigh on March 10, 2026.

North Carolina reports early progress in Medicaid plan for foster children

by Jaymie Baxley March 11, 2026

By Jaymie Baxley North Carolina’s new Medicaid plan for children in the foster care system has enrolled more than 32,000 young people, and state and health plan officials told lawmakers Tuesday they’ve cut the average time to arrange a child’s placement from 45 days to 16. The update came during a meeting of the General […]

Shows a white man with a close cropped beard in a jacket and dress shirt.

After transforming and expanding the program, NC Medicaid director steps down

by Jaymie Baxley February 27, 2026

PBM reforms promise relief for NC’s independent pharmacies

by Jaymie Baxley February 23, 2026

Many people who are eligible for Medicaid don’t realize it until after a hospitalization or emergency.

Medicaid’s retroactive safety net is shrinking — patients, hospitals could feel the fallout

by Jaymie Baxley February 6, 2026

Co-chairs of the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Medicaid on Jan. 13, 2026.

NC Medicaid leaders seek funding strategy as federal work requirements — and their costs — loom

by Jaymie Baxley January 30, 2026

Members of the state's Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services during a presentation about North Carolina's plans for Rural Health Transformation Program funding on Jan. 13, 2026.

North Carolina begins planning for $1B rural health initiative

by Jaymie Baxley January 20, 2026